Modern Languages

The ability to communicate in another language will be a key factor for success in the career market of the 21st Century.

We are passionate about giving our students an insight into, and an appreciation of, the cultures of the countries where their chosen languages are spoken as well as building solid foundations for them to speak and understand these languages.

All students in the Lower School study up to three languages, choosing between French, Spanish, German, Mandarin and Latin. One or two languages may then be taken through to GCSE at which point Greek is added as an option. All European languages plus Latin and Greek are offered at A Level.

We run a variety of weekly clubs and extension activities including a weekly Junior Culture club with an enviable attendance, French lunch and Spanish chat, and we enter students for a variety of language related competitions including the French Spelling Bee, the Stephen Spender Poetry Translation Competition and university essay competitions. Examination results over recent years have been excellent with many students choosing to continue a language at university, including at Oxford and Cambridge.

Language teaching is carried out for the most part in the target language in all years. Students from Third Form to Upper Sixth have regular sessions with our Foreign Language Assistants. There are internal written examinations, aural tests and oral tests on a regular basis.

We see visits abroad as an extension of our classroom work. These visits are arranged for many year groups, whether as work experience, homestays, cultural visits or exchanges. Yearly visits to Spain include a Fourth Form exchange and a Second Form visit to southern Spain; visits to Germany include Berlin and an exchange in Aachen, while visits to France include a Fourth Form exchange with a school near Lille, a First Form trip to northern France and where possible a Second Form day trip to our partner school near Lille, combined with letter exchanges throughout the year. Sixth Form students are encouraged to take part in work experience and/or study trips abroad.

Please take a look at our Sixth Form pages for details of our A Level language courses

2020.08