French

French is spoken by at least an estimated 274 million people around the world and the numbers continue to grow. Estimates suggest that by 2050 it will have 750 million speakers.  Historically, it has long been viewed as the language of diplomacy and it remains the preferred or official tongue of many international organisations and businesses.

GCSE

Pupils at Harrodian study the Edexcel Pearson GCSE course. For full details see the Edexcel website or the Harrodian GCSE prospectus.

Our teachers take GCSE course pupils for three lessons a week and pupils also have a one-to-one weekly session with our language assistant. We divide students into different sets so they can benefit fully from lessons targeting their particular level. The focus is squarely on the four main language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing but there are plenty of opportunities to develop pupils’ cultural knowledge of the countries where the target language is spoken through the study of excerpts of literary texts and the use of authentic material. 

A Level

Students study the Edexcel A Level course, taking six lessons a week and a one-to-one session with the French assistant to reinforce the spoken skills. For full details of the course, please refer to the Edexcel website or the Harrodian Sixth Form Prospectus.

A Level French builds on students’ linguistic skills while developing their capacity to think analytically and express their ideas fluently and accurately in written, spoken and even ‘on-line’ media. Through studying diverse aspects of history, politics, art, traditional and contemporary culture, students develop a critical and analytical insight into French culture, in particular by focusing on a film in year one and a book in year two. At the same time, students build on their communication skills and vocabulary so that they are able to regularly discuss and debate a wide-range of topical issues in a French context such as relationships and family structure, modern technology, work and education, music, cultures and traditions.   In the second year, students also study a period of French history, in particular France under German occupation. 

For more specific year-by-year information, please refer to our Curriculum Handbooks/Information Booklets

Extracurricular

There are regular opportunities to join trips to French films and theatre performances, to attend students’ conferences and to take part in a debating competition with other London schools.

Staff

Head of Modern Languages: Sandrine Montet

Head of French: Sandrine Montet

Deputy Head of French/Head of A Level: Beatrice Albert 

Other teachers of French and Language Assistants: please select the relevant department on the dropdown menu to view our full staff list by clicking here.