In the MFL department at Kingsmeadow Community School we are passionate about the value of learning a language for students of all backgrounds and abilities. We believe that knowing more than one language opens doors to a wealth of opportunities both in our community and abroad.
KEY STAGE 3
​
As our feeder primary schools offer different modern foreign languages, all students in year 7 start Spanish from beginners. Our curriculum is knowledge-rich and interleaved in order for students to build strong connections between topics, maximising their progress. Teaching focuses on developing the breadth and depth of students' competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing, based on a solid foundation of core phonics, grammar and vocabulary. Students learn to develop and justify their points of view with increasing independence and accuracy on a range of themes. We are proud that every student of all abilities is afforded the opportunity to study Spanish throughout years 7 - 9.
KEY STAGE 4
At Kingsmeadow Community School languages are at the core of the curriculum; all students study Spanish at GCSE. In years 10 and 11, building upon the core knowledge acquired at key stage 3, students deepen their understanding of Spanish phonics, grammar and topic-specific vocabulary. Students are challenged to do more and remember more by an interwoven curriculum model and frequent retrieval practice. The curriculum builds confidence and challenges students to develop their understanding and opinions on a range of topics. At the end of the AQA course, students are assessed on listening (25%), reading (25%), speaking (25%) and writing (25%) in Spanish.
KEY STAGE 5
Studying Spanish at A Level is the smart route to a great future in today’s global, multilingual and interconnected world. This two-year programme builds on the skills acquired at GCSE to boost communicative fluency and to immerse students in the culture and heritage of the countries where the language is spoken. Key topics cover contemporary political and social issues relevant to teenagers and to their future careers. Students also study works of literature and film as a means of cementing and contextualising the linguistic and cultural content of the course. At the end of the AQA course, students are assessed on listening, reading and writing (paper 1, 50%), writing (paper 2, 20%) on the film and novel studied in Spanish and speaking (paper 3, 30%) including an independent research project on the topic of their choice.
