Languages
“To learn a new language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.”
KS4 Specification
AQA GCSE French and Spanish.
National Curriculum
Gladesmore Community School prides ourselves on delivering the breadth and ambition of the National Curriculum.
Curriculum Intent
Our approach to languages at Gladesmore reflects the multiculturalism and diversity of our students. Languages are an inherent part of our school community, with more than 80 languages spoken across our student body. Our mission is to foster this linguistic talent by providing a curriculum that is representative and inclusive, honouring the diverse backgrounds of our students. We are committed to providing a comprehensive language education that seeks to inspire and equip students with linguistic skills that extend beyond the GCSE qualification and prepares them for real-world experience in an ever-evolving, globalised economy.
Our curriculum is spiralled through the key stages in order to maximise attainment by developing students’ language skills through the delivery of and re-visiting of themes, whilst building on a foundation of familiar language. At lesson-level, the curriculum is implemented holistically, embedding GCSE skills throughout Key Stage 3. We teach pupils to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity; our phonics-based approach, delivered through modelled speaking activities, ensures that students are continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation. In line with our inclusive mission, we ensure that students are exposed to a variety of accents and dialects from Francophone and Hispanophone countries. Whilst our core vocabulary and grammatical skills are based on the Pearson/AQA textbooks, we strive to introduce cultural learning through the use of authentic materials from the target language.
We ensure that all students receive language education throughout Key Stage 3 through our ‘Languages for all’ policy. We are committed to an inclusive curriculum which provides equal opportunities to all our students, regardless of ability. This is demonstrated by the recent development of our Foundation scheme of work which, whilst reflecting our mainstream curriculum, introduces the same topics with more accessible language. Irrespective of their prior attainment or background, we hence ensure we pupils are given the knowledge, understanding and skills to progress onto the next stages of their education. Likewise, beyond our core taught languages of French and Spanish, we embrace all languages spoken by our students, whether or not they are exam languages. Under our ‘Community Languages’ scheme we aim to give students opportunities to learn or enhance their existing language skills, for example, providing tuition in Korean, Turkish, Japanese, etc.
At Gladesmore, we understand that we are educating students to enter the world of global work so learning includes relevant real-world topics and issues which gradually introduce increasingly complex levels of language in order to stretch and challenge our students. Regular project work is undertaken to develop independent, real-life work skills based on Project Based Learning and creative activities. We explore social issues, integrating cross-curricular themes such as social justice and the environment, so that students fully understand the cultural contexts of our taught languages and are able to apply such knowledge to their language work. The team’s enthusiasm for languages leads to learning about the real application of languages in the workplace.
We provide students with a range of enrichment opportunities to help them become responsible citizens who can make positive contributions to society. The Language Department leads a range of Erasmus projects, including an international exchange between Paris, Alicante and London each year. We are currently engaged with an Erasmus project with two schools in Finland, based on the teaching of PSHE skills in the area of multiculturalism and integration into society.
Curriculum Summary
Year 7
| French | Spanish |
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Year 8
| French | Spanish |
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Year 9
| French | Spanish |
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Year 10
| French | Spanish |
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Year 11
| French | Spanish |
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Curriculum Enhancement
Erasmus
Gladesmore Community School has successfully bid for ERASMUS funding on a number of occasions. We have developed very strong links with partner schools in Spain and France. Please find below details of two current projects.
TEACH (Team-Teaching to Inspire Creative and Independent Language Learners)
TEACH is a joint project developed by Gladesmore Community School, London; IES Poeta Paco Mollá, Petrer, Spain and Collège Gérard Philipe, Cergy, France.
For the project, the 3 schools identified shared training needs for the development of new curricula in the light of new educational policies in each country. The schools are now collaborating to develop project-based learning during a two- year Erasmus+ Key 
Action 2 project.
Within the project, staff will be trained and, through the use of team-teaching contracts, develop lesson plans and resources to teach in a creative and innovative way. Lesson plans and resources are focused on two themes: My World and Health and Wellbeing. Students learn in depth about various topics within these themes in English, French, Spanish and Valencian. They explore issues about the world around them using enquiry- based learning techniques and Mantle of the Expert.
The outcome of the project is resources developed by young people. Young people develop videos for listening comprehension and vocabulary development, PSHE themed lessons, drama presentations, films, models and other media using ICT skills. Staff and students travel to each school during the project to develop the work and also work collaboratively to enhance spontaneous spoken and written language in the taught language.
In total 260 students take part in the activities but 600 young people in the schools are directly or indirectly involved in the project. The coordinators of the project produce listening comprehension videos, a toolkit of resources, recorded lessons, student voice (interviews, examples of work) and lesson plans for the development of team-teaching and the use of project-based learning in educational visits. These are to be launched at workshops.
Partnership with school in Jokionen, Finland
We have a continuing Erasmus+ project with schools in Jokionen, Finland which is due to finish in 2022. This project involves students travelling between the countries and experiencing life in very different situations. Students learn how life is different in rural and urban centres. Students are also preparing PSHE workshops based on ideas surrounding multiculturalism and integration. Students have the opportunity to try out some very different activities, for example cross-country skiing.