Sixth Form.
Course content.
This course enables students to develop the skills required to communicate confidently and effectively in French. Students will explore a variety of authentic materials such as newspaper articles, television programmes, songs and internet sites, and study a series of topics related to France and the experiences of young French people. Clearly this course will provide a sound basis for those who want to go on to study French to degree level. Equally, though, French is highly regarded for its academic rigour, as well as the ability it supposes to communicate confidently with other people. A language qualification, therefore, is the perfect complement to any career path, and is much valued by employers as an additional skill. Many Higher Education courses in subjects such as Marketing, Business, Science and Engineering now include an element of language study and/or period of work experience abroad.
Assessment.
French is offered at AS and A2 level with the AQA examination board. Students have two teachers for 5 periods per week, plus one period with the foreign language assistant. Students enter for Module exams in May/June of Year 12 and May/June of Year 13. Students may retake AS modules in January or June of Year 13. For one A2 unit students do coursework which involves the study of two French films.
Entry Requirements for AS Level.
In order to cope with the demands of the course, students should have gained at least grade B in French at GCSE, and should have taken the Higher Tier Papers.
Career opportunities
The outlook is very positive indeed for students who learn modern foreign languages. Employment rates after languages degrees are amongst the very highest. Employers particularly welcome graduates with good communication skills and who can offer one or more foreign languages. Languages graduates may get involved in education or translating/interpreting, but it is much more likely that they would work in commerce or industry using languages as an extra skill.