Mayfield Grammar School, Gravesend
French
“Le talent provient de l’originalité, qui est une manière spéciale de penser, de voir, de comprendre et de juger.”
Guy de Maupassant (Pierre et Jean)
Year 7
The Year 7 French course is based on Units 1-3 of the textbook “Allez 1”. Each chapter introduces new vocabulary and grammar structures for the set topics (introductions and personal information, family and pets, free time and leisure, school).
By the end of the year, all students will begin to recognise familiar language and infer language from short listening and reading extracts and begin to expand responses to questions in spoken French or write short paragraphs in French about the set topics. Students will be able to use the present tense, express likes and dislikes, and begin to use some phrases in the past tense.
Year 8
The Year 8 French course is based on Units 4-7 of the textbook “Allez 1”. Each chapter revisits vocabulary and structures from Year 7, whilst introducing near future tense forms and vocabulary and structures for the Year 8 topics (food and healthy lifestyle, town and region, free-time activities and daily routine, holidays).
By the end of the year, all students will be able to recognise familiar language and infer language from longer listening and reading extracts and be able to give spoken presentations and/or extended responses to questions in general conversation and in writing in relation to both Year 7 and Year 8 set topics. Students will be able to use the present tense with a wider range of verbs, near future tense, and past (perfect) tense.
Year 9
The Year 9 French course is based on the textbook “Studio Edexcel GCSE (9-1) French Foundation” and is supplemented by materials from the Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Higher course. The topics introduced in Years 7 and 8 are now built on and new ones introduced (introducing yourself and others, family and friends and personal relationships, hobbies and leisure, media and use of social networks and technology).
By the end of the year, students will be able to recognise and produce new vocabulary which is now frequently more complex and less common. Past, present and near future tenses are systematically revisited and applied in a range of contexts, and the conditional tense is introduced. This already equips students with the knowledge and skills required for working towards a high GCSE grade.
GCSE
Year 10: Students follow the Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Higher course and use the Studio GCSE Higher (9-1) textbook to support their learning. The students build on their strong foundation of topic-specific vocabulary and grammatical structures encountered in Years 7-9. Learners revisit and enhance their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: festivals and traditions, town, region and country, holidays and travel.
By the end of the year, students will be able to recognise more complex vocabulary and decode unknown vocabulary in spoken and written French in a range of task types. Students will be able to ask and answer short questions as part of a role play task, engage more meaningfully in general conversation in relation to the set topics by frequently justifying ideas and viewpoints, as well as produce a written response to a four-bullet-point task. Students will now recognise and use six tenses: past (perfect), past (imperfect), present, near future, simple future and conditional.
Year 11: Students complete their GCSE course by enhancing their knowledge and understanding of the following topics: school, world of work, environmental and global issues.
The nature of these topics allow students to begin using the French language in speaking and writing to weigh up advantages and disadvantages, and to discuss problems and propose solutions, thus equipping students with some of the knowledge and skills required for the study of French at A Level. By the end of the course, learners will be prepared for all four components that form the assessment for GCSE: listening, speaking, reading, writing, each worth 25% of the overall grade.
GCSE French – guide for students and parents
Sixth Form
We offer a two-year course of study (A Level), following the Edexcel Specification detailed below. As of 2020, it is no longer be possible to complete an AS qualification with Edexcel in French. All students will therefore follow a linear two-year course of study.
Students gain a wide range of language skills during the course through the study of the following topics:
Year 1
- Changes in French Society (changes in family structures, education and employment);
- Political and artistic culture in French speaking countries and communities (including music, the media and its influence on society and politics, festivals, customs and traditions).
Year 2
- Immigration and multicultural society in France (including the positive impact of immigration on economy and culture, challenges faced by the state and society with regards to immigration and integration, and the rise of the far right);
- Occupation and Resistance (including life in occupied France, the Vichy regime, the French Resistance).
The course also involves the study of a film (in Year 12) and a literary component (in Year 13). We currently study the film Intouchables in Year 12 and the novel Un sac de billes in Year 13.
A Level French – guide for students and parents
Enrichment Opportunities
Students benefit from a wealth of enrichment opportunities which allow learners to develop their disciplinary knowledge, academic literacy and cultural capital. Mayfield students are encouraged to extend their interest in French by taking part in the following activities and events:
- Year 8 Trip to Calais and Boulogne
- Year 9 Trip to the Institut Français, London
- Year 10-13 Trip to Paris
- French Language Day at the Bronte School
- Pen pal or email exchange with partner school in Pontarlier
- Speaking Lessons with Modern Language Assistant
- French Games Club for Years 7-11
- French Support Club for Years 10-11
- French Cinéclub for Years 11-13
- Interschool Spelling Bee
- Anthea Bell Translation Prize
- This is Language Charity Competition (Nutty Tilez)
- Subscription to This is Language for Years 10-13