If you like and are interested in language, you should find French, German or Spanish (or any combination) challenging and stimulating at AS and A-level. In our AS and A-level language courses, we have two main aims: to help you get the highest grade of which you are capable and to provide you with a confident and detailed knowledge of the language that will be of practical use to you in later life.
Realistically speaking, to embark on AS or A-level, you are expecting a very good grade in your GCSE; anything less and you are likely to find things very difficult from the start. In addition, you need to be interested in language-learning in the first place and committed to continual improvement. You also need to spend as much time as possible abroad, improving your fluency among those who speak the language best.
We concentrate on authentic, contemporary language. The great majority of your reading and listening will be based on up-to-date sources (television, radio and the press), and you will cover a wide range of issues, both social and personal (immigration, racism, unemployment, smoking, drinking, drugs, teenage relationships etc.). You will be expected to develop ideas and opinions on these issues, and to use the language you have studied to express these ideas and opinions in speaking and in writing.
To help you do this in an increasingly sophisticated way you will be given regular lessons in A-level grammar, to improve your appreciation of how the language actually works and to enable you to use it more confidently. You will also typically have one lesson of conversation each week with either a language assistant or your teacher, where you will be able to put into practice what you have learned in class.
The AS and A-level examination papers test your ability in listening, reading, speaking and writing. Significant attention is paid to grammatical accuracy. In addition, at both AS and A-level, you have to demonstrate your knowledge of the contemporary culture of countries where the language is spoken, both in Europe and in the wider world. Dictionaries are no longer permitted in modern language examinations, so the need to develop a wide vocabulary is very important.
We anticipate that all pupils (except those who have sat AS papers early in year 11) will sit the AS-level units at the end of the Lower Sixth. They are a valuable transition stage between GCSE and A-level, whilst being an important qualification in their own right. The majority of pupils continuing to A-level will repeat some or all of the AS units in the Upper Sixth. As they require very little preparation that is not in any case an integral part of the A-level course, they will not be a burden, and with greater maturity, knowledge and confidence, you can expect to achieve significantly higher results. In addition, you will take the three A2 units. The AS and A2 units combine to give the full A-level qualification.
In all languages, potential Oxbridge candidates are given additional preparation from an early stage.
The skill of being able to speak and understand modern foreign languages well has never been more important than it is in the European context of today. The syllabuses we use, modern and relevant, are admirably suited to developing that skill and to providing you with an enjoyable and very beneficial two years of A-level study.