Year 7

Students will start their introduction to French by learning about the country – it's geography, main cities etc.  They will also speak about why it is important to learn a language.  In the first half term, they will look at being able to introduce themselves and give key information about themselves in the target language.  Grammar will start to be introduced and they will start to become familiar will concepts such as gender of nouns, question words etc. 

Expending on this in the second half term they will talk about members of their family and learn about describing themselves and others and be introduced to the 2 verbs ‘avoir’ and ‘être’.  They should be able to write extended paragraphs by the end of the autumn term. 

During the autumn term students will start to give opinions on various topics such as food and drink, sports and school subjects.  A range of opinions and reasons will be used, which will be reinforced and expanded on in the second half of the term. During the second half of the winter term, they will explore further the present tense while learning to describe where they live. 

During the summer term students will link their learning with the topic of Art and Artists.  They will explore describing paintings, using a range of colours, shapes, prepositions, physical descriptions and verbs. They will be able to discuss their favourite artist and describe their house by looking at Monet’s house.  

Throughout each topic students will develop the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and be assessed each half term on at least one of these skills.  By the end of Year 7 all students should be able to ask and answer a range of simple questions on the topics covered.  They should be getting more confident with describing a photo and be developing translation skills.  They should also be able to write up to 40 words on a range of the topics covered, some will be able to write 40+ words. 

Year 8

Students begin Year 8 by looking at the expectations for the coming year and recapping a few key topics and grammar points from Year 7.  In the autumn term they learn about parts of the body and illness and go onto look at how the perfect tense is formed, in order to link it with activities to say what they have done.  After half term they will discuss daily routines by looking at time and reflexive verbs.  They will expand on this by learning about household chores and saying how they earn pocket money and how they spend it.  By the end of the autumn term they should be able to talk about these topics in depth, using a range of opinions, reasons and tenses. 

During the spring term they will expand on their knowledge and use of the comparative and superlative tenses.  They will recap descriptions and go onto talk about their favourite tv programs, films and books.  They will go onto the topic of food and drink and there will be an emphasis on speaking activities.  They will look at vocabulary for shopping at the market which will include quantities and weights and will practise role play activities.  To finish they will look at recipes in French and either follow a recipe or create their own. 

During the summer term they will talk about holidays using a range of tenses.  By the end of this topic they will be able to say where they go, who with, how they get there, where they stay and what they do.  Students’ knowledge of tenses continued to be developed by including a fourth – the conditional – tense, and they will become more confident using comparisons. In the final term they will look at technology and discuss what technology they have and how they use it.  They will also be able to compare technology today with technology in the past, as well as, trying to predict what it will be like in the future. 

By the end of Year 8, all students should be confident with describing a photo, have a good understanding and ability to use the present, perfect and near future tenses and be able to write an average of 60 – 80 words on a variety of topics Throughout each topic students will develop the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and be assessed each half term on at least one of these skills.   

Year 9

Year 9 will start by recapping several grammatical structures they have covered in Years 7 and 8.  They will practise the present, past and future tenses in the context of free time. They will talk about whether they get on with members of the family.  In the second half of the Autumn term they will focus on where they live, describing their town and comparing it to other towns.  They will also discuss their daily routine using key reflexive verbs. 

The whole of the Spring term is dedicated to talking about school.  They will start by recapping school subjects and opinions and will go onto talk about their teachers, the facilities, school uniform and rules.  They will then look at Victorian England in particular what life was like for rich and poor children at that time.  They will then compare Victorian schools to school nowadays and talk about their preference. 

The second half of the term revolves around the film ‘Les Choristes’ which is set in a French boarding school.  They will watch the film and then complete a series of lesson looking at the different characters, the plot and even write about what they think will happen to the characters in the future.  They will then produce a review of the film.  They will finish off with a cultural lesson about famous French actors. 

The Summer term will start with a series of lessons on healthy lifestyles.  They will look at sports and extreme sports, then link it with diet, exercise and healthy lifestyles.  They will also research famous French athletes and learn about the Tour de France. 

In the second half of the term the focus will be on the conditional tense linking it with future aspirations.  They will talk about what they want to do after school, which jobs they would like to do and even hopes for marriage and children.  They will further use the conditional tense to describe their dream house and even their dream holiday. 

By the end of Year 9, all students should be very confident with describing a photo, have a good understanding and ability to use a range of tenses and be able to write an average of 90 words on a variety of topics Throughout each topic students will develop the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and be assessed each half term on at least one of these skills.   

Year 10

GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series. 

Paper 1: Listening

What's assessed? 

Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language  

How it's assessed? • Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier) • 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE (Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.)  

Paper 2: Speaking

What's assessed? 

Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes  

How it's assessed? • Non-exam assessment • 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time • 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time • 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier. The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too: • Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier) • Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier) • General conver sation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier). 

Paper 3: Reading

What's assessed?  

Understanding and responding to different types of written language  

How it's assessed? • Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier) • 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier • Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally • Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally • Section C – translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier). 

Paper 4: Writing

What's assessed? 

Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes  

How it's assessed? • Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier) • 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier • Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks • Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks • Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks • Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Higher Tier • Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks • Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks • Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks 

Year 11

GCSE French has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series. 

Paper 1: Listening

What's assessed?

Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language

How it's assessed • Written exam: 35 minutes (Foundation Tier), 45 minutes (Higher Tier) • 40 marks (Foundation Tier), 50 marks (Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE (Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.) Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier • Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally • Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally. 

Paper 2: Speaking

What's assessed?

Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed • Non-exam assessment • 7–9 minutes (Foundation Tier) + preparation time • 10–12 minutes (Higher Tier) + preparation time • 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too: • Role-play – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 2 minutes at Higher Tier) • Photo card – 15 marks (2 minutes at Foundation Tier; 3 minutes at Higher Tier) • General conver sation – 30 marks (3–5 minutes at Foundation Tier; 5–7 minutes at Higher Tier). 

Paper 3: Reading

What's assessed?

Understanding and responding to different types of written language

How it's assessed • Written exam: 45 minutes (Foundation Tier), 1 hour (Higher Tier) • 60 marks (for each of Foundation Tier and Higher Tier) • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier • Section A – questions in English, to be answered in English or non-verbally • Section B – questions in French, to be answered in French or non-verbally • Section C – translation from French into English (a minimum of 35 words for Foundation Tier and 50 words for Higher Tier). 

Paper 4: Writing

What's assessed? Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes

How it's assessed • Written exam: 1 hour (Foundation Tier), 1 hour 15 minutes (Higher Tier) • 50 marks at Foundation Tier and 60 marks at Higher Tier • 25% of GCSE Questions Foundation Tier • Question 1 – message (student produces four sentences in response to a photo) – 8 marks • Question 2 – short passage (student writes a piece of continuous text in response to four brief bullet points, approximately 40 words in total) – 16 marks • Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 35 words) – 10 marks • Question 4 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks Higher Tier • Question 1 – structured writing task (student responds to four compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 90 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 16 marks • Question 2 – open-ended writing task (student responds to two compulsory detailed bullet points, producing approximately 150 words in total) – there is a choice from two questions – 32 marks • Question 3 – translation from English into French (minimum 50 words) – 12 marks 

If you would like any more information about our French curriculum, please contact Mr J Farmer, Head of Humanities and MFL, by emailing  jfarmer@colneprimet.co.uk, filling in the form on our contact us page or phoning the main office to arrange a call back.