More than 200 million people speak French on five continents. The Francophonie, the international organisation of French speaking countries, comprises 68 states and so an ability to communicate in French is a huge advantage in the international job market. Not only that, French is the language of cooking, fashion, theatre and architecture.

France also remains the number 1 tourist destination for Britons. France’s 6th largest city is said to be London with its thriving and growing expatriate economy. Speaking French is above all the pleasure of learning a beautiful, rich, melodious language but one which is also analytical, that structures thought and develops critical thinking which is a valuable skill for discussions and negotiations.

Our course has been developed to help pupils of all abilities progress and develop a passion for languages, through culturally engaging real-word content.

The GCSE examination comprises of four skills papers: Listening, Reading Writing and Speaking.
Each skill is worth 25% of the total grade awarded.

Questions across all four language skills are set in common contexts, addressing a range of relevant contemporary and cultural themes. They are organised into five themes, each broken down into topics and sub-topics.

The five themes are:

• identity and culture
• local area, holiday and travel
• school
• future aspirations, study and work
• international and global dimension

This course will enable pupils to

1. develop their ability to communicate confidently and coherently with native speakers in speech and writing, conveying what they want to say with increasing accuracy.
2. express and develop thoughts and ideas spontaneously and fluently.
3. listen to and understand clearly articulated, standard speech at near normal speed.
4. deepen their knowledge about how language works and enrich their vocabulary to increase their independent use and understanding of extended language in a range of contexts.
5. develop awareness and understanding of the culture and identity of the countries and communities where French is spoken.
6. develop language learning skills both for immediate use and prepare them for further language study in school, higher education or employment.

A few quotes from our former pupils:

“French is a great language and it was really satisfying to learn something which has real application in the real world. My GCSE in French has been useful to me in life. It was a challenge too but well worth it.”

“You need to be organised, opinionated and have a real attention to detail to achieve the top grades in French and I have had to work hard… but it’s a really, really interesting course.”

Examination Board: Edexcel
Specification: French (1FRO)

Mme A. Warne – Head of French