Our teaching team consists of three full-time teachers of French, one part-time (3 days a week) and a foreign language assistant. We have designated classrooms, two of which are equipped with a perimeter listening system.

The staff of the French Department are committed to teaching through the medium of French as far as possible in all our classes throughout the school.

In Key Stages 3 and 4 classes follow the ‘Metro’ course where each student has a workbook as well as a textbook. This series has proven particularly successful due to its clear, colourful layout. We also use the accompanying audio cassettes and ICT packs.

Our examination classes are as follows:

Year 12 (Top Band) (2 Classes) CEA GCSE Higher
Year 12 (Average Band) (2 Classes) AAQA Foundation/Higher
Year 12 (Special Needs) (1 Class) GOML + AQA Entry Level Certificate

Year 13 - EDEXCEL GCE AS Level
Year 14 - EDEXCEL GCE A2 Level

Our foreign language assistant works with Years 11 and 12, teamteaching with the class teacher. In Years 13 and 14, students are timetabled for individual oral lessons with her. She also visits our Key Stage 3 classes at least once a year. This adds an interesting dimension to our teaching of French as the foreign students befriend our girls and promote interest in their home region e.g. Brittany, the Basque Country and Quebec.

We twinned with Lycée Saint Paul Orléans in 1993 and have been operating an annual exchange programme since then. Our GCSE and A level students host their French penpals in march and go to France in June. Our Key Stage 3 trip to France includes a day trip to Lycée Saint Paul when our students get the chance to meet their ‘correspondants’.

The class ‘Eurolinks’ have proven enjoyable and rewarding, motivating our students to learn French and giving them opportunities to travel into Europe. The French Department intends to continue to develop these links in various ways in the coming years. We have devoted the languages corridor to displays of students’ exchange experiences. We also promote awareness of careers opportunities involving French.

French Links of Interest

French Work Sheets