Languages
For information about adult language classes click here
OFSTED REPORT FOR LANGUAGES DECEMBER 2008
The Team
The MFL Department is an established and strong department that has developed greatly over recent years and has an exciting future. We are a team of dedicated and skilled language teachers who work very well together, sharing resources, ideas, expertise and support. The Department currently consists of 7 full-time staff and 3 part-time teachers: Our aim is to promote the enjoyment of learning languages with all pupils, through high quality teaching and by offering a range of opportunities for pupils to experience contact with other countries. We endeavour to provide as wide a range as possible of opportunities for pupils to enjoy using languages and to achieve excellent standards in their language learning.
Courses
All pupils study French, German, Italian or Spanish from Year 7. Some of these pupils will be entered for GCSE in Year 9 in this language, and everyone will be given some form of official accreditation for their study of the language at the end of Key Stage 3. We currently offer GCSE courses in French, German, Italian and Spanish. With the introduction of the new National Curriculum for MFL in 2008, we now use 'Voilà' as our main course book in French. In Spanish, we use 'Listos' and in German 'Echo'. In Italian, we use 'Tutti Insieme' and 'Amici'. In Key Stage 4, all pupils are expected to study a language; for the vast majority this will be to GCSE level, though we do offer a range of other courses to suit certain other groups of pupils.
Groups
In Year 7 classes are set according to ability, based largely on KS2 data, in each language. The upper sets in the current Y7 will most likely be entered for GCSE in the language in Year 9. We place an emphasis on 'fun' in language lessons, together with high standards of discipline and expectations of achievement. It is our policy that, where possible, all qualified staff should teach across the age and ability range. All members of the department are therefore involved in both KS3 and KS4 and take examination classes.
Extra-curricular opportunities
We have a well-established annual exchange programme with our partner school in Düsseldorf. Our German counterparts visit us in September and our pupils travel to Germany in the spring. We have an established link with a school in Feldkirch, Austria and near Milan, Italy for a volleyball exchange. We now have a new link with a school in Italy for e-mail, and letter exchanges. We also hope to engage in joint projects with France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Germany involving video-conferencing. Regular trips are also organised to France, Italy, Germany and Spain. In 2011, a first ever visit to the Himalayas is being organised for a small group of pupils, to the lower part of Everest - a very exciting opportunity! As a school, many other trips abroad are organised by other departments, including Music, PE and the Mediterranean cruise.
Accommodation
The main teaching area for MFL is a suite of 6 rooms in 'A' block, with one other room on the first floor of the same block. Each room is well furnished, with interactive SMART boards, white boards and hi-quality audio equipment. Our 'International Centre', adjacent to the MFL suite, houses a wireless computer suite, a virtual language laboratory and rooms for the FLAs to work with small groups. The Centre is also used by local business and other partners from the community for language training. Foreign Language Assistants Each year we employ French, German and Spanish language assistants. They provide invaluable contact for the pupils with native speakers, enriching their learning and helping to develop greater intercultural understanding as well as opportunities to improve their speaking, of course.
LanguageCollege Status: Phase 2
We achieved re-designation as a SpecialistLanguageCollege in September 2007. This is very exciting for the Modern Languages Department, with many more opportunities for professional development, research and partnerships with industry, commerce, primary and secondary schools, further and higher education and the wider community. Redhill is also at the forefront in supporting both the Primary Languages Strategy and the Secondary Languages Strategy, through SLNs (Strategic Learning Networks). We employ 3 part-time language specialists to support language development in primary schools,
Martyn Orton Director of Languages
Yvonne Price Co-ordinator of Languages
