French
The intent of the French Curriculum
The French curriculum at Sir John Leman High School has been created with the intention of developing cultural awareness and understanding, alongside enabling students to communicate successfully in the target language. Our curriculum provides students with the opportunity to learn and use French in practical situations, to discover the culture and customs of Francophone countries and to encourage a positive attitude to foreign language learning and culture.
Studying a language has many benefits for the brain, language lessons promote vital communication skills and encourage mental agility, supporting and assisting pupils with other areas of the curriculum (literacy, numeracy, geography, computing), and providing them with a distinct advantage in an increasingly global community; knowledge of at least one foreign language is a significant asset in the job market.
The teachers in our Languages faculty are active and passionate about their specialism, committed to exploring creative ways of passing on our enthusiasm for languages to the students at Sir John Leman High School. We regularly share ideas about the range of learning strategies involved in understanding, learning and retaining a foreign language. We believe that all students should have the opportunity to learn a language and to have a sense of achievement while doing so.
How is the French Curriculum implemented?
The KS3 French curriculum follows the Studio textbooks; starting with Allez 1 in Year 7 and working through to Allez 3 in Year 9. The vocabulary and grammar in the KS3 Allez curriculum provides students with an excellent foundation of knowledge to build on at GCSE.
Curriculum Sequencing Plan - French
The impact of the French Curriculum at the end of Key Stage 3
The KS3 French curriculum at Sir John Leman High School gives students the skills, knowledge and experience to make an informed decision about pursuing their French studies at GCSE. By the end of Year 9, our students have attained a level of competence that will allow them to make a positive start to the GCSE course. As success in public examinations in MFL is a pre-requisite for the pursuance of courses in higher education and certain careers, our curriculum allows students to maximise their potential in a foreign language so that they have every opportunity available when they leave school.
How is it assessed?
Students are taught as mixed ability tutor groups in Year 7; Year 8 classes are set by ability based performance through-out Year 7 and broad ability groups are set in Year 9. Students are assessed at the end of each unit with assessments in key languages skills such as reading, listening, speaking and writing.