French
Three members of staff teach French at BHSG and in addition we have an experienced French Language Assistant who holds conversation lessons with the students in Year 11 and Sixth Form linguists.
- Mrs D Arrowsmith, Head of French, Teacher of French and German, MA Nottingham, PGCE Manchester. E-mail arrowsmith.d@bedfordhigh.co.uk
- Mrs J Chadwick, BA (Hons) Oxon, e-mail chadwick.j@bedfordhigh.co.uk
- Mr O Hertout, Licence LEA, Amiens, PGCE Manchester, Teacher of French and Spanish E-mail: Hertout.o@bedfordhigh.co.uk
- Mrs S Bell, French Language Assistant Email: Bell.S@bedfordhigh.co.uk
We have a wide range of resources and regular use of ICT, video and computer based language facilities and a wide range of activities including exchange visits and our French Society.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)
U3: 2 periods per week
Content:
Introducing yourself, describing your family, home, hometown, pets, dates and festivals, weather, finding the way in a town. Simple grammatical concepts and parts of speech are introduced. Students learn listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.
L4: 5 periods per fortnight
Content:
Time, food, shopping for food, planning a journey, talking about holiday destinations and school. The grammatical focus is mainly on developing the students' awareness of verbs (including reflexive verbs). Students learn listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.
U4: 4 periods per week
Content:
Staying with a French family, eating out, traveling by public transport, the human body and how you feel, making plans, invitations, family and friends, leisure interests. The grammatical focus is mainly on using the perfect and present tenses. Students learn listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.
Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
GCSE: 4 periods per week
In Upper 5 students also have one period per week conversation class with a French Assistant.
Content:
In Lower 5 the course revises and develops the following topics in preparation for GCSE: every day life, town or county living, travel, staying in France, school life and future plans. Students learn listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. In Upper 5 the following topics complete the preparation for GCSE: Holiday accommodation, accidents and health, future plans and money, using essential services in a French town. Students continue to develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills.
Sixth Form
International Baccalaureate
French is taken as a Group 2 subject, with students opting for Standard or Higher Level. All students have 4 periods a week, with Higher Level candidates having an additional 2 periods. The IB offers opportunities to develop learners' skills in communicating with a variety of different audiences or readers. Comprehension skills are enhanced by the in-depth study of texts and audio/video resources. There is plenty of opportunity for girls to become ever more proficient in speaking the language, for French is the medium of teaching, and girls have an additional session each week in a small group with our experienced French assistant. There is much scope for imagination in the written and spoken set assignments.
AS / A2
The girls are prepared for the OCR AS and A2 examinations. They cover a wide variety of topics.
- AS topics: Aspects of Daily Life, Leisure and Entertainment, Communication and Media, Education and Training
- A2 topics: Society (Integration and Exclusion, Law and Order, Unemployment), Environment, Science and Technology, Culture.
There are 8 periods a week, split equally between two teachers. Whenever possible, French is used as the medium of teaching, so that students' oral and aural skills are developed. Learning takes place through the study and discussion of texts and audio/video resources, generally followed by written tasks. Girls benefit from an additional extra session each week in a small group with the French assistant, who helps prepare them specifically for the oral exams.
