Modern Languages
At The Castle School we offer our students the opportunity to study two of the following
languages as part of our curriculum; French, German, Spanish and Mandarin. The ability to
teach two of these languages to GCSE will put you at a distinct advantage, although we will
also consider candidates who are subject specialists in one of the languages.
Our languages department is made up of 7 language teachers, who are all fully committed
to improving outcomes for our students. We meet regularly to share best practice and
discuss effective teaching strategies, which lead to students developing the skills to
communicate spontaneously in the target language. Our language classrooms are fully
equipped with Interactive Whiteboards and we use SMART software. We have regular
access to ICT facilities and we are currently developing our use of iPads within the
classroom.
We have designed our curriculum model to offer students the opportunity to experience
four of the world’s most commonly spoken languages. In the autumn term of year 7,
students have taster sessions of French, German, Spanish and Mandarin and then choose
their two preferred languages to continue until the end of year 9. During the options
process in year 9 students choose one or two languages to study at GCSE level.
In years 7, 8 and 9 we have structured our courses around the following resources; French –
Studio, German - Echo, Spanish – Mira and Mandarin – Jìn bù. We are committed to
personalising learning for our students and work together to create our own resources to
support the least able and challenge the most able learners. We currently teach the Edexcel
GCSE specifications.
We believe strongly in the value of extra-curricular provision in languages and offer a
significant amount of support and intervention to our students in their preparation for
exams. We recognise the impact that educational visits can have on students’ motivation
and currently offer an exchange visit to a school in Germany. We are keen to develop our
provision further and build on our links with France, Spain, China and other target language
countries. Our feeder primary schools have taken up the challenge to teach languages
across Key Stage 2 and we are keen to support them with their language provision.
Our students at The Castle School are our greatest asset and we are keen to hear from
Modern Language professionals who possess the vision and drive to enthuse them to
broaden their horizons through the study of key global languages and cultures.