Mandarin Chinese

Overall Intent

We want students to love learning languages, to want to pursue their studies further, to have the ambition and sense of adventure to want to try the language out in a foreign country or on a foreigner in this country and we want them to be happy and successful in this mission.

We talk regularly to students about how they are on a journey in learning their language. That journey with us may finish at the end of Y9, it may finish after Y11, it may continue to Y13 and beyond, but we want them to be happy and successful on that journey, regardless of how long that journey is.

We also break that journey down into little journeys. Each lesson is a journey, so each lesson has a clear purpose. Students are onboard; they know where they’re heading, and they’ve therefore got buy-in. Our job is to make sure that each task of each lesson keeps students on that journey, happily and purposefully heading towards their exciting destination.

Key Strengths of the curriculum

The deep, broad and high-quality provision that we offer:

• All students study two languages from Y7 (French plus Ger/Sp) and get two lessons per week on each through to Y9.
• The vast majority (approx.80%) do at least one language for GCSE, with many doing two languages.
• All students can study Mandarin Chinese from Y8 as an extra (lunch time and after school). This year there are ten UK-native students on the 6th Form GCSE Chinese course.
• We offer three core languages at GCSE and A-Level (Plus Ab Initio Italian in 6th Form and Chinese). In comparison to the National Picture, we have extremely high interest and numbers.
• We have subject specialists - all MFL teachers are appropriately (degree-level) qualified for teaching their subjects. There is exceptional subject knowledge among the team.
• The FL tries to allocate classes to suit individual teachers’ stronger interests, specialisms and development areas.
• Students (and staff) benefit from native-speaking FLAs in three languages.
• We have highly successful and established exchange programmes to France, Germany and Spain, as well as two Y7 trips to France with 120 participants every year.
• We have high-profile events within school such as Chinese New Year, Big Picture Day, EDL, Foreign Film Club etc.
• 6th formers mentor and support lower-school and native students.
• Our shared planning of highly effective and well-sequenced lessons is very strong.

Curriculum overviews