Overview
The Mercia School French department aims to create great linguists, not just great GCSE students. We sing and chant in every lesson. We give 100% every lesson because we recognise that being able to understand and communicate with others in different cultures is vital today and tomorrow.
In the first three years of study at Mercia School pupils will learn about the cultural and historical events that make France and the French language so important and vibrant. They will learn about the unique geography of France and its oversea territories, the historical importance of Joan of Arc, the French Revolution and Charles de Gaulle as well as exploring literature from Mauritius. This is all coupled with a superb knowledge of the grammar that binds the French language together.
Year 7
Term 1 & 2
- Present tense
- All about me
Term 3
- Imperfect tense
- All about me
Term 4
- Imperfect tense
- Jeanne d’Arc, Guillaume le Conquérant, Le Trésor de Tikoulou, l’environnement
Term 5 & 6
- Conditional tense
Year 8
Term 1 & 2
- Conditional tense
Term 3
- Present tense and reflexive verbs
- School and all about me
Term 4
- The near future tense
- School and holidays
Term 5
- Perfect tense
- La revolution francaise, Napoléon Bonaparte
Term 6
- Perfect tense
- All about me
- Local area
- The near future tense
Year 9
Term 1
- Transactional speech
- Planning a trip to Réunion
Term 2
- Transactional speech
- Staying in Paris
- Work experience
Term 3
- Conditional/conditional perfect
- Work
Term 4
- Simple future tense
- Pour sauver la planète
Term 5
- Narrative speech/passive voice
- Deuxième guerre mondiale
- Charles de Gaulle
Term 6
- Mixing tenses
- School
- Aspirations
Year 10 & 11
The final two years of their French studies provides an opportunity for pupils to use and build upon their grammatical and cultural understanding to express a range of nuanced opinions on a range of topics. They develop their skills in the four examined areas of study: reading; writing; listening and speaking. We follow the Edexcel GCSE French exam board and as such the programme of study is split into the following themes:
Autumn 1: Studying and my future & media and technology
Autumn 2: Lifestyle and wellbeing & studying and my future
Spring 1: My personal world & my neighbourhood
Spring 2: Revision
Summer 1: Travel and tourism & my neighbourhood
Summer 2: Revision
Exam board
Edexcel