We have a native French teacher who takes lessons with all children from nursery and throughout the school. We have a French room where the children are surrounded by French images, artifacts and vocabulary so that they are immersed in the culture.
The focus is on practical communication and the emphasis is on speaking and listening, so that pupils learn to ask and answer questions and develop accurate intonation and pronunciation. As they get older, reading and writing in French are developed and basic grammar is introduced where relevant, depending on the topic being studied. Pupils learn though communicative games and activities and develop an appreciation of stories, songs, poems and rhymes. Independent work enables them to manipulate the language and engage in conversations. A residential trip to France in Key Stage 2 gives the girls an opportunity to use the French language in real life scenarios.
In Year 6 the girls have Spanish lessons so that they can get a feel for the language before they start secondary school.
