Modern Foreign Languages

Why study a Modern Language?

The ability to speak a foreign language is a hugely important life skill; languages allow you to broaden your horizons, develop your communication skills and enhance your job prospects.

Languages are the perfect example of facilitating subjects; they combine extremely well with other subjects or can be studied in their own right. Every year British companies lose out on business due to a lack of language skills among the population which means that language graduates are hugely in demand.

If you have a love of languages, of how they work and in discovering more about the history and culture of the countries of those languages, then this is the course for you. Most importantly of all, learning a language is fun and can be a life-enriching experience. Many people, later in life, speak of their regret at not continuing with a language they enjoyed at GCSE. Don't let that be you!

Entry Requirements

You need to have achieved at least a grade 6 in the language at GCSE but a grade 7 is highly recommended, particularly in the writing element.

Special features of the course

We run exchanges every year to France, Germany and Spain for Year 12s, and strongly recommend that you take part as there is no better way to improve your language skills than in the country. These exchanges run jointly with Aylesbury Grammar School.

In Year 13 we run trips to Paris, Berlin and Madrid too.

In addition to lessons with your subject teachers, you will have extra sessions in small groups with the Foreign Language Assistants, designed to allow you to practise your speaking skills.

Costs

In Year 13 you will need to buy your own copy of the text you study.

See individual subjects for more details.

Where can I find out more?

By speaking to Mr Baird, Mrs Aston, Mrs Medley, your Year 11 language teachers or the Subject Ambassadors. Alternatively, email them on ebaird@ahs.bucks.sch.uk, aaston@ahs.bucks.sch.uk or kmedley@ahs.bucks.sch.uk.

See the individual subject pages:

French

German

Spanish

How is the course organised?

Over the two years of the course, you study 4 main topic areas, each of which is sub-divided into 3 smaller topic areas. At the end of the two years you will be tested on all of them through Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking assessments.

There is also an independent research project for the oral in Y13. This is where you get to focus on an element of the country that you find particularly interesting, from Monet to the Brothers Grimm to the history of the Catalan Independence movement, the choice is yours.

See the subpages for further details as the topics are different for each language.