French - Key Stage 4
Students who choose to study French at key stage 4 will follow the AQA GCSE French course.
During the course, students cover the following three broad themes at either Foundation or Higher level depending on their ability. These are:
- People and Lifestyle
- Popular Culture
- Current and the World Around Us
The GCSE language course aims to develop understanding and communication in the foreign language across all four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students will develop their knowledge, understanding and use of vocabulary, phonics and grammar.
A key stage 4 French Language immersion trip to Normandy is offered as an important element of the programme.
The course is assessed by 4 exams, each worth 25% of the final grade, and students will be entered in either the Foundation (F) or Higher (H) tier:
- Listening - a 35 minute (F) or 45 minute (H) examination
- Speaking - 30 minutes per candidate (F and H) - 15 minutes preparation and 15 minutes for the examination
- Reading - a 45 minute (F) or 1 hour (H) examination
- Writing - a 1 hour (F) or 1 hour 15 minute (H) examination
The Foundation tier covers grades 5 to 1, the Higher tier covers grades 9 to 5.
Students who study French can go on to gain employment in areas such as travel companies, airlines, banking and accountancy, publishing, manufacturing, marketing, teaching and diplomatic service, which can require knowledge of languages.
The ability to speak languages is useful in all kinds of professions and jobs. Many companies are multinational and employees who speak other languages will always have an advantage over others.
A modern foreign language forms part of the English Baccalaureate and many universities consider language qualifications as part of their selection criteria.
Curriculum Implementation
Click here to view the curriculum implementation overview for key stage 4 Modern Foreign Languages.
Curriculum Timelines
Click here to view the curriculum timeline for French at key stage 4.
Curriculum Learning Journey
Click here to view the learning journey for French.
Knowledge Organisers
Click on the links below to view some knowledge organisers for French:
- GCSE French Knowledge Organiser Booklet
- Conditional Tense
- Future Tense
- Giving Extra Detail
- Giving Opinions
- How Can I Improve My Work
- Imperfect Tense
- Infinitives
- Near Future Tense
- Perfect Tense - Irregulars
- Perfect Tense - Regular Avoir
- Perfect Tense - Regular Etre
- Present Tense - Irregulars
- Present Tense Regular ER Verbs
- Present Tense Regular IR Verbs
- Present Tense Regular RE Verbs
- Time and Frequency
Click here to return to the Modern Foreign Languages page.