French

French is a useful and very beautiful language and learning it gives you access to a different, exciting culture of theatre, literature, cinema, music, dance, art and, of course, food!
We learn about these aspects through the language in the classroom and get to enhance our understanding through extra-curricular activities such as debates and theatre visits as well as trips to France in years 8, 10 and 11 and in the Sixth Form.

All girls study French in years 7, 8 and 9 and many go on to study it as an option in years 10 and 11. There is no limit to the options available to you if you study French at University as you can combine it with the majority of University courses and spend a year abroad. Having a language as part of your degree also increases your employability and, often, your salary.

In Years 10 and 11, girls study the environment, how to write letters requesting employment, problems that may occur whilst abroad (such as illness and injury or a visit to a lost property office) amongst other themes. Girls study IGCSE French and they are examined in all four skills areas: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Girls have access to a wealth of resources both in school and on the Internet and may spend time honing their skills via the Language Laboratory, through French workshops, by visiting the library and making the most of the foreign language books, magazines and films that can be found there or by spending time with the French language assistant

Fascinating Facts

French is the official language of the United Nations, NATO, the EEC and the International Red Cross, as well as the International Olympic Committee – worth bearing in mind for 2012!
In the 300 years which followed William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings, all the English monarchs spoke French as a first language.
33 countries count French as one of their official languages – second only to English. France is one of them, can you name the rest? http://www.fll.vt.edu/French/francophonie.html
Paris, the capital city of France, is the most visited city in the world and receives over 44 million visitors a year. We visit Paris in year 12! http://www.timeout.com/paris/
Strangely, in France, you do not have a ‘frog’ in your throat when you have a croaky voice. Instead, you have a cat in your throat. (Un chat dans la gorge) .
France produces 20% of the world’s wine – that’s about 5,500,000,000 litres per year. ..Not to mention over 400 kinds of cheese! Some of these can be found on your local supermarket shelves – have you ever spotted any?
The Statue of Liberty was made in France and given to the Americans as a gift. A mini version of the statue can be found on the Seine – the river that runs through the centre of Paris. Incidentally, the man who constructed the statue was the same man responsible for building the Eiffel Tower.
Well-known children’s classics ‘Cinderella’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Puss in Boots’ were originally written in French by author Charles Perrault and have since been translated into English.
The word ‘blonde’ has only recently been borrowed from the French language. Up until the very recently, English people only used the expressions ‘Fair-haired’ or ‘flaxen’ to describe blonde people. Why not follow this link to see how good your knowledge of borrowed words is? http://www.whystudylanguages.ac.uk/ks3/listening
French alphabet letters are the same as the ones used in English. However, no French word uses the letter ‘w’ and its usage is found only in foreign language words. Think about it...