Modern Foreign Languages

Prep school > Curriculum > Subjects > Modern Foreign Languages

Pupils who study a language for 4 years or more outperform their classmates. Learning a language helps your memory and your attention span, it helps you better understand your first language and improves your vocabulary and communication. Being bilingual also improves problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, Maths skills and Music skills!

Studying a language makes you a better person no matter what your learning profile!

We aim to:

  • Expose pupils to as much target language as possible in the classroom.
  • Teach pupils to learn from their mistakes and not be afraid to have a go.
  • Give pupils the confidence to step out of their comfort zone.
  • Offer pupils a different viewpoint of the world and different cultures.

The MFL Department is passionate about culture as well as language…

  • Do you know what happens on St Martin’s Day in Germany? Our Year 4s will!
  • Do you know what the Very Hungry Caterpillar eats in French (or that the caterpillar is a ‘she’ in the translation and why)? Our Year 5s will!
  • Do you know what le Petit Nicolas gets up to at school? Our Year 6s will!
  • Do you know your pétanque from your boules? Our Year 7s will!
  • Do you know how to canoe down the Ardèche? Our Year 8s will!

Year 3 pupils will learn French and Italian, Year 4 will learn French and German, Year 5 will be introduced to Spanish and continue French. In Year 6 we continue learning French via a KS3 textbook and in Years 7 and 8 most pupils will study French and choose to study either Spanish or Latin as their second language. Pupils for whom two languages in KS3 is not appropriate, will be taught extra literacy and numeracy lessons in lieu of Spanish or Latin.

We aim to practise all four skills in our lessons: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

At the end of Year 8 pupils have the option to take a trip to the Ardèche.