A Level French

An increasingly global world makes French a useful, relevant, lively and hugely rewarding subject.

French is an official language of the United Nations and the European Union and is spoken in over 50 countries by around 285 million people. Moreover, speaking a foreign language is one of the most sought-after skills for employers. Studying French can be combined with any other subjects, whether you wish to complement your arts subjects, or to contrast with science subjects.

About the CourseA two-week transition period will enable you to develop the skills necessary to study from GCSE to higher level.

• 12 topics rooted in the current affairs of French-speaking countries.
• Reading newspaper articles and literary texts.
• Watching films and the daily news.
• Debating contemporary topics and social issues.
• Consolidating and expanding your grammar.
• Pair and small group speaking practice in lessons, as well as conversation classes.
• Dedicated lessons to develop your listening skills.
• Writing to inform, convince and analyse.

We will support you in becoming an effective independent learner. We have a wide range of online resources to inspire and support you outside of the classroom. In addition, we run small group and support sessions at lunchtime and offer individual help when needed.

Opportunities unique to this course

We offer a small weekly group conversation class with our French native-speaker language assistant to boost your confidence in speaking. Extensive peer mentoring, group or individual support is also provided. You can also get involved with competitions, talks, a student-led society and a group exchange trip to Paris for eight days, or an individual exchange to Montpellier.

You will tackle a range of issues and debates about France and the French-speaking world, study in-depth a film and a literary text, as well as develop your linguistic skills and understanding.

Topics

Aspects of French-speaking society

• The changing nature of family
• The cyber-society
• The place of voluntary work

Artistic culture in the French-speaking world

• A culture proud of its heritage
• Contemporary Francophone music
• Cinema as the 7th art form

Current issues in French-speaking society

• A diverse society
• Life for the marginalized
• How criminals are treated

Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

• Teenagers and politics
• Demonstrations and strikes
• Politics and immigration

Works

• A film in Year 12 (Les 400 coups, L’auberge espagnole, or La haine)
• A literary text in Year 13 (Voltaire’s Candide or Camus’ L’Etranger)

Listening, reading and translation - 50%

Writing, based on the film and book studied - 20%

Speaking - 30%

You need to be qualified by both the relevant Admissions Score AND the predicted GCSE grade for each A level you apply for.

Please go to the College website to find the most up-to-date entry requirements for each A level that we offer: https://www.hillsroad.ac.uk/study-with-us/a-level-subjects

You can also visit www.hillsroad.ac.uk/apply to find out more about making your application.

You could study a range of degree courses, including French, linguistics, a new language or combining a language and another subject as well as studying abroad for a year. You could go on to work for an international company either in this country or abroad.