The MFL curriculum is ambitious, inclusive, and designed to enrich students’ cultural awareness while building confident language proficiency. It challenges learners at all key stages, strengthens core knowledge, fosters fluency, and deepens grammatical understanding. Through cultural engagement, it equips students to thrive in a globally connected world.
Students begin Year 7 by mastering phonics and sentence structure, confidently introducing themselves and discussing family. They learn to justify opinions when talking about school and free time.
In Year 8, they refine their ability to express complex ideas, expanding their knowledge of tenses through discussions on past and future experiences, including meals and holidays.
By Year 9, students engage in longer conversations, covering topics like town and environment, work and future plans, and celebrity culture. They develop fluency in expressing opinions, extending sentences, and using multiple time frames, preparing for the demands of KS4.
Students will learn in a supportive and interactive environment, collaborating with each other through peer speaking activities. Every lesson builds on prior learning, ensuring students apply their language skills with growing confidence and fluency.
Benevolence is fostered through meaningful conversations, as students engage in paired dictations, and listen to others with respect. Through reading and discussion, they explore topics like cultural identity, inclusion, and global challenges, encouraging empathy and awareness of different viewpoints.
The curriculum promotes excellence and aspiration, integrating authentic texts and discussions on themes such as travelling, work, and influential figures in celebrity culture.
Learning a new language deepens personal awareness and expression. As students describe their families, interests, and experiences, they gain insight into their identity and what matters to them. Through exploring diverse lifestyles and perspectives, they develop empathy and an appreciation for the richness of human experience.
Engaging with other cultures nurtures an understanding of beauty—not just in language, but in traditions, stories, and ways of life. As students communicate about the past and envision their futures, they connect with ideas that go beyond themselves. Language learning becomes a pathway to wonder, gratitude, and a sense of connection to something greater—be it community, humanity, or spiritual reflection
Students will be formatively assessed weekly through vocabulary tests, ‘apply and demonstrate’ tasks, peer and self assessment and whole class teacher feedback. Students will reflect on their own work and their peers and act on feedback. Students will complete summative assessments at the end of each topic which will be assessed and tracked. Students will REACT in detail to improve their work through redrafting and editing ensuring visible progress.
At the end of each year, students will sit an exam in a formal setting so they can have experience of an exam setting.
At KS4, learning a Modern Foreign Language (MFL) helps students become confident, articulate and globally aware in speaking and writing. It builds on KS3 skills, improving grammar, vocabulary, and cultural understanding. By deepening their understanding of grammar, vocabulary, and cultural contexts, students enhance their fluency, preparing them to engage with native speakers and apply their language skills in real-world situations.
At KS4, we follow the AQA specification for both French and Spanish, ensuring students develop strong language skills across Years 10 and 11. The curriculum alternates between key themes, allowing students to engage with a variety of topics while refining their listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities.
Students will explore authentic texts, cultural materials, and structured grammar exercises to deepen their understanding of the language. They will annotate and analyse passages, focusing on themes, characters, and linguistic structures to enhance comprehension and fluency.
To prepare for the GCSE MFL exams, students will practice exam-style questions, refine their ability to express opinions, and develop structured responses in both spoken and written formats. They will also engage in role-play, discussions, and transactional writing, ensuring they can communicate effectively in real-world situations.
The AQA GCSE MFL curriculum fosters aspiration by challenging students with a diverse range of topics that encourage high academic goals and global awareness. It builds belief by developing confident communication skills, enabling students to express their ideas fluently in another language. Benevolence is promoted through discussions on cultural diversity, empathy, and social issues, helping students appreciate different perspectives and traditions. Excellence is achieved through rigorous skill development in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, ensuring students can engage effectively with native speakers and real-world contexts. Additionally, the curriculum cultivates youth leadership by encouraging students to lead conversations, support peers in language learning, and take ownership of their progress, empowering them to use their skills beyond the classroom.
Through studying French and Spanish at KS4, students deepen their understanding of themselves by refining how they express thoughts, preferences, and values. They gain insight into others by exploring diverse cultures, voices, and perspectives through authentic texts and real-life conversations.
This journey encourages appreciation for the beauty found in language—its structure, rhythm, and power to convey emotion and connection. Encountering different ways of living and communicating also inspires a sense of wonder and respect for the richness of human experience.
In developing empathy, clarity, and a sense of purpose through language, students are invited to reflect on what it means to belong, to express themselves meaningfully, and to connect with something greater than their immediate world—whether that’s community, humanity, or a spiritual dimension.
Students will be formatively assessed weekly through class discussions, ‘apply and demonstrate’ tasks, peer and self-assessment and whole class teacher feedback. Students will reflect on their own work and their peers and act on feedback.
Students will complete summative past paper assessments at the end of each topic which will be assessed and tracked. Students will REACT in detail to improve their work through redrafting and editing ensuring visible progress.
Students will be assessed in exam conditions such as both open and closed book assessments to prepare them for future GCSE exams. Mock examinations also take place at 3 points across KS4 to prepare students for longer periods of writing.
Studying GCSE Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) is highly beneficial for A-levels and future careers, as it develops essential skills in critical thinking, clear communication, and cultural awareness. Learning a language strengthens problem-solving abilities, improves memory, and enhances adaptability—skills that are valuable in both academic study and professional life. At A-level, students build on their GCSE foundation, refining fluency and deepening their understanding of global perspectives. In careers, multilingual individuals are highly sought after in fields such as business, diplomacy, translation, tourism, and international relations, where effective communication and cultural sensitivity are key.
At KS5, we follow the AQA specification for both French and Spanish.
The A Level course is a natural continuation from GCSE with a focus on the four skill areas of reading, speaking, writing and listening. The course is split into 3 areas – topics (covering a wide range of trends and issues in the French/Spanish speaking world) works (a literary text and film) and an Independent Research Project (on a topic of the student’s choice).
In A Level Spanish, you will learn in more detail about the Spanish language and incredible cultural diversity of Spain and the countries of South and Central America. Topics build on those covered at GCSE but looked at from a more mature perspective. These include modern and traditional values, cyberspace, equal rights, modern day idols, Spanish regional identity, cultural heritage, political and social issues such as immigration, integration and racism.
In A Level French, you will learn in more detail about the French language and Francophone culture. These include modern and traditional values, cyberspace, cinema, Francophone music, cultural heritage, political and social issues such as immigration, racism, crime as well as undertaking an individual research project and studying a French language film and book.
Students will explore authentic texts, cultural materials, and structured grammar exercises to increase their fluency in the language.
To prepare for the A Level exams, students will practice exam-style questions, refine their ability to express opinions, debate and justify their views in both spoken and written formats, ensuring they can communicate effectively in real-world situations.
The AQA A Level MFL curriculum fosters aspiration by challenging students to develop not only advanced linguistic skills but also a deep cultural, historical, and political understanding of the Spanish/French-speaking world.
Benevolence is promoted through content which encourages empathy, cultural understanding and personal growth.
Belief is promoted by nurturing students’ belief in themselves, in the value of language learning, and in the power of intercultural understanding.
The A-level course promotes excellence through its rigorous academic structure, high expectations, and emphasis on independent, critical, and culturally informed learning.
Additionally, the curriculum cultivates youth leadership by empowering students to take initiative, think critically, and engage meaningfully with global and societal issues. The course encourages students to see themselves as global citizens with the power to influence and lead in diverse cultural contexts.
A Level languages allows you to explore profound questions about identity, society, beauty, and belief.
Through literature, film, and cultural studies, you encounter characters and voices that challenge your assumptions and broaden your sense of self.
Students will be formatively assessed through class discussions, presentations, ‘apply and demonstrate’ tasks, peer and self-assessment and teacher feedback. Students will reflect on their own work and their peers and act on feedback.
Students will complete summative assessments at the end of each topic which will be assessed and tracked. Students will REACT in detail to improve their work through redrafting and editing ensuring visible progress.
Students will be assessed in timed exam conditions.
Longer in-class assessments take place at 2 points across KS5 and sets of mock examinations in both Y12 and Y13 to prepare students for the length and variety of question and different skills needed for A Level Papers 1, 2 and 3.
Studying a language at A Level can open doors to a wide range of university courses and global careers, thanks to the global reach of French/Spanish and the transferable skills it develops.
At A-level, students build on their GCSE foundation, refining fluency and deepening their understanding of global perspectives.
In careers, multilingual individuals are highly sought after in fields such as business, diplomacy, translation, tourism, and international relations, where effective communication and cultural sensitivity are key.
