Strategic Lead for Modern Foreign Languages: Mrs S. Barker
"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."
Rita Mae Brown
"He who knows no foreign languages knows nothing of his own."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"You can never understand one language until you understand at least two."
Geoffrey Willans
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela
Languages are really important here at Scissett Middle School. Studying a modern foreign language allows students to understand other countries, cultures and people.
At Scissett Middle School, students are taught French by specialist MFL teachers once a week in Year 6 and twice a week in Year 7 and 8. Students are taught in their form groups in Years 6 & 7 and then in sets in Year 8.
During their first year, pupils build on and reinforce the knowledge already acquired in their feeder schools. In the MFL classroom, students develop the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. They learn how to make links between English and French and manipulate the language to communicate. Learning French lays the foundation for learning other languages and develops literacy skills in English.
As students transition from Scissett Middle School to Shelley College at the end of Year 8, our most able pupils will be given the opportunity to start Spanish, as well as carry on with their French in Year 9 at Shelley College. Most pupils will continue studying French only. We work very closely with our MFL colleagues at Kirkburton Middle School and Shelley College. Our MFL curriculums at both middle schools are aligned to ensure that students are ready for their transition to high school.
Learning a foreign language increases our student’s cultural capital and opportunities for learning about French culture are built into our Schemes of Work. In the summer term of Year 8 students are given the opportunity to visit France and put their French language learning into action.
Click here to see how British Moral Values are taught in French.
Careers in this subject
A qualification in a French can open many doors and create opportunities for the future both personally and professionally. Careers can include:
Interpreting, teaching, translating, marketing, buying and sales, advertising, working for airlines, foreign civil service, tourist industry and hotel management, editing and publishing, event management, imports and exports, logistics.
British Moral Values
Click here to see how British Moral Values are taught in French at Scissett Middle School.