The A level French course at King’s is designed to enhance pupils’ linguistic skills and promote their capacity for critical thinking on the basis of their knowledge and understanding of the language, politics, culture, heritage, identity and society of the countries where French is spoken. They will develop control of the language to convey meaning, using spoken and written skills, including an extended range of vocabulary to become increasingly confident, accurate and independent users of French.

Skills developed at A level

Above and beyond the language skills you gain, by the end of the course you will have developed critical thinking skills, reasoning skills and multi-tasking skills that employers and universities really value. In addition, strong communication skills, being precise and an international outlook are all developed in A level French.

Components of the course

The course includes the study of two French works: a literary text and a film. At King’s we currently study the highly popular, contemporary novel ‘No et Moi’ by Delphine de Vigan and the internationally acclaimed shock-film ‘La Haine’ by Matthieu Kazovitz.

An Individual Research Project on an aspect of Francophone Society is also undertaken. Pupils choose a question or topic that interests them and the aim is to develop a passion for their chosen area and to develop independent research skills. The IRP is discussed with the examiner as part of the speaking examination at the end of the course.

The examinations at the end of the course also include reading, writing, and listening papers on current trends in French-speaking society and a writing paper on the novel and the film that is studied.

Entry requirements

Ideally, you will have a GCSE Grade 6 or above.

University courses and professional

Universities love A level French pupils, and you can use it to apply for a wide range of courses that you might not first have thought of – medicine, law, accountancy, business – all of these courses appreciate the skills acquired through studying French. Increasingly, we see our former students maintaining and extending their study of French as a subsidiary subject at university such as Engineering with French, Maths with French and Business with French.

As so much business is now done on an international level, companies are always on the lookout for employees who can easily converse with overseas colleagues. Modern languages graduates embark on a number of rewarding careers as translators, interpreters, researchers and teachers. However, a high level of competency in French opens doors to careers in all areas such as publishing, business, international charity work, law and banking.