Spanish

One of the Romance languages, Spanish is a wonderfully melodic language, which many pupils find easy to pick up, especially if they have already studied French. It is the official language in twenty-one countries and the third most widely-spoken language in the world, after English and Mandarin.

More than 400 million people speak Spanish worldwide and experts predict that by the year 2050, there will be 530 million Spanish speakers, of which 100 million will be living in the United States. That many people can’t be wrong so its time to start communicating with the rest of the world.

Years 7-9

Pupils start Spanish with us for the autumn term of Year 7, where the focus is on fun, phonics and resilience to work out unknown vocabulary. They then switch to French for the remainder of Year 7 and pick Spanish up again in Year 8.

Teachers incorporate the four key language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing by using a range of up-to-date, interactive resources and ICT where possible. This approach ensures pupils have the best opportunity to engage with the language and learn about the culture of Spain.

GCSE course

A significant number of students opt for Spanish at GCSE as their core language or to study it alongside French. Following the AQA syllabus, pupils will have the confidence to communicate and develop their ideas in Spanish, and deal with day-to-day real life situations. Pupils have the opportunity to practise their language skills through regular contact with our native Spanish assistant and to take part in cultural trips which are being reviewed for 2021 to include a language immersion programme, similar in style to the French GCSE/A-Level trip to Montpellier.

A-Level course

See Sixth Form Curriculum here for full details of our A-Level Spanish course.

Outside the classroom

We run a variety of languages clubs including Italian Club and Spanish Speaking Club. 

Languages’ Week is a new initiative running alongside the European Day of Languages in September, which celebrates all things European through activities, guests speakers and language workshops.

Languages No Limits is our bi-annual careers event focusing solely on the career opportunities for those with one or more Modern Foreign Language. Guest speakers in the past have included GCHQ, Médecin Sans Frontières and the Intelligence Corps.

Highlights from Year 10 & 11 pupils' Spanish immersion trip to Salamanca in March 2023