Bienvenidos ⎼ Bienvenue ⎼ Welcome
Why languages matter
At The Gatwick School, we have an international outlook.
We are fortunate enough to be on the doorstep of the UK's second busiest airport, which is of course the biggest employer in the area, not just at London Gatwick itself but also at the many industries and services that supply it.
Whether a member of your family or someone you know works at the airport or you have ever travelled from it yourself, you will know that many languages are spoken and you will have witnessed the value of languages in a real world setting. So for more information about enhancing career prospects with languages, click on our Careers with languages tab above.
Spanish is not just the language of Spain, it is also a global language with over 400 million native speakers worldwide, (plus another 100 million non-native speakers). It is the language of 21 countries, including most South American countries. This is why Spanish is a sought-after language which is important both commercially and culturally.
French is an official language in 29 countries, and is spoken as a first language in France, Quebec (Canada), Belgium, Switzerland, and Monaco, and as a second language in many north, west and central African countries. There are 500 million speakers of French worldwide. Therefore French is a sought-after language in business, diplomacy and the arts.
What we offer
At The Gatwick School, we value languages not only as an academic discipline but also as an invaluable life skill, which improves students' chances and contributes to understanding of different cultures, engendering both tolerance and respect. These are fundamental to our school values and those of British society today.
That is why we recreated and relaunched our Modern Foreign Languages department last September and invested in new resources which make the most of modern technology. Students now use Chromebooks and Google Classroom in every lesson in dedicated MFL classrooms, and discover more authentic language than they have ever done previously. We use progressive, innovative and proven processes that transform the language learning experience for all.
On this MicroSite, students and their parents can get a flavour of what we will be learning in each year of the secondary languages journey, as well as details of effective, new ways of assessing progress along the way.
I hope that you will find this information interesting and useful and if you have any questions about our language curriculum, you are most welcome to get in touch with me directly via email and I will be happy to help.
David Walker-Smith
Mr D Walker-Smith (BA, PGCE, PGDip, MCIL), Assistant Headteacher & Head of Modern Foreign Languages
The Gatwick School | 23 Gatwick Road | West Sussex UK | RH10 9TP