Students who choose to study French at key stage 4 will follow the AQA GCSE French course.

During the course, students cover the following three broad themes at either Foundation or Higher level depending on their ability. These are:

1. People and Lifestyle
2. Popular Culture
3. Current and the World Around Us

The GCSE language course aims to develop understanding and communication in the foreign language across all four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students will develop their knowledge, understanding and use of vocabulary, phonics and grammar.

A key stage 4 French Language immersion trip to Normandy is offered as an important element of the programme.

The course is assessed by 4 exams, each worth 25% of the final grade, and students will be entered in either the Foundation (F) or Higher (H) tier:

• Listening - a 35 minute (F) or 45 minute (H) examination 
• Speaking - 30 minutes per candidate (F and H) - 15 minutes preparation and 15 minutes for the examination
• Reading - a 45 minute (F) or 1 hour (H) examination
• Writing - a 1 hour (F) or 1 hour 15 minute (H) examination

The Foundation tier covers grades 5 to 1, the Higher tier covers grades 9 to 5. 

Students who study French can go on to gain employment in areas such as travel companies, airlines, banking and accountancy, publishing, manufacturing, marketing, teaching and diplomatic service, which can require knowledge of languages.

The ability to speak languages is useful in all kinds of professions and jobs. Many companies are multinational and employees who speak other languages will always have an advantage over others.

A modern foreign language forms part of the English Baccalaureate and many universities consider language qualifications as part of their selection criteria.

Click here to return to the Modern Foreign Languages page.