The Modern Foreign Languages Faculty strives to develop, maintain and stimulate students' curiosity, interest and enjoyment in the process of learning foreign languages. We have very high expectations of student commitment, and we support students for them to achieve the very best that they are capable of. The Faculty motto of “Languages for all, languages for life” drives the work we do to provide a curriculum which supports students who may need that from time to time but also extends for students who are keen to push themselves further.
The Faculty currently offers two languages: French and Spanish. Each of these languages offers its own unique appeal and can support the achievement of students in many of the other subjects offered at Bishop Ramsey School. The study of a modern language can give students a unique window into the wider world, as well as develop practical skills which can help students develop across the curriculum.
The vast majority of students take either French of Spanish to GCSE as part of the EBacc curriculum.
The Year 7 cohort are offered the opportunity to learn either French or Spanish, depending on the year half that they are in. They then pursue this language choice for the rest of their time at Bishop Ramsey. Classes are arranged in mixed ability groups to maximise engagement, with the range of ability and gender profile of the groups carefully arranged to ensure a balance across the ability range. We make full use of the potential for independent learning offered by the 1-to-1 devices and we expect students to use these as support and to have them ready for each lesson.
Edexcel 1FR0
and
Edexcel 9FR0
We believe that understanding and speaking French is a big advantage for our students in our global society. As a world language and one of the official languages of the UN, knowledge of French offers many opportunities for work and travel abroad. France remains one of the most important trading partners for all European and many non-European countries. French companies also play a large role in the UK economy and opportunities exist in the UK for French speakers, particularly as many French companies have bases in the UK and expect their employees to have some knowledge of French.
France has a very rich cultural and historical heritage which can enrich the learning of students and also build their appreciation of the arts and everything which comes with them. We seek to nurture our students’ curiosity and passion for all things French.
We offer visits to the Institut Francais to watch films and to participate in workshops on various cultural topics.
Throughout the language learning process, students develop a range of other skills which are important across the curriculum and in future life. Our methodology of learning languages aims to process extensively key vocabulary, grammar and phonics using the teacher as a model of excellent language. Students are required to learn topic-based vocabulary from Pearson textbooks, and this is tested weekly. We also include opportunities to study real life cultural materials through songs, poems, films and short extracts from books to bring the language to life and to enable students to gain an appreciation for the culture of the target language country.
It is important to note, that despite the developing use of English, a Language qualification in French or Spanish is very highly regarded. Many prestigious universities look favourably at the study of a language in the application process. Moreover, given our school’s prime location near Heathrow and the ease of access to Europe, additional languages can give students the edge that others may not have and opens a wealth of job opportunities. Foreign Languages combine well with a range of other subjects and can complement the Arts, the Humanities and Sciences.
We encourage students to take part in a range of activities and the European Day of Languages is a very popular event at the beginning of the year – we hold language themed competitions for each Key Stage and encourage students to engage with the importance of languages for life.
We invite speakers or companies in to run events or to give talks on the benefits of learning a foreign language and the career opportunities that this offers across a whole range of disciplines.
We also offer clubs for students to participate in. There is a weekly lunchtime KS3 MFL club and several weekly KS4 MFL support sessions that are offered to students after school.
Year 8 students take part in a range of workshops during the Spring Term MFL Curriculum Day. The programme includes sessions on Caribbean Culture, Brazilian Theatre, Celt Roots, Romanian, Italian, French Baking, Flamenco Dancing and Día de los Muertos Crafts.
The MFL Faculty try to engage students in all aspects and have their own X feed @MFL_BR which is used to update students on interesting articles, excellent classwork, trip pictures etc.
At Bishop Ramsey we are also able to facilitate additional GCSE Community Languages. Currently these are Italian and Polish, but this is depending on staffing.
Community Languages are facilitated at Bishop Ramsey by students sitting exams in these languages alongside their main MFL (French or Spanish) and gaining an additional MFL GCSE.