Welcome to Kents Hill Park School’s Modern Foreign Languages department. We provide a rigorous curriculum encompassing all aspects of the Spanish language. Pupils will benefit from activities developing their listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation skills. Literacy is key and is strongly promoted both in the target language and the pupil’s own mother tongue. Pupils investigate many cultural aspects of the Hispanic world through mini case studies, reading and writing tasks focusing on other Spanish-speaking countries to further contextualise their learning of this fascinating language and culture. As pupils move through the school, they will begin to familiarise themselves with short literary texts in Spanish to prepare them for the rigours of GCSE study.

Staff and Facilities

Mrs Holland is Head of Languages, specialising in Spanish and French. Mrs Betts-Murphy joined Kents Hill Park School in 2020 and teaches Spanish.

Enrichment

The Spanish Support Club runs after school on a Wednesday evening. This is open to any pupil wishing to consolidate or extend their Spanish learning.

As part of our inter-house competitions, the department runs a Spanish-language spelling bee which is open to pupils in all year groups. A similar French spelling bee runs in the primary phase.

Curriculum

Year 7 Curriculum

Over the course of the year pupils will develop their understanding and ability to use Spanish to a conversational level. The Year 7 course focuses on the pupils and their world, with modules covering topics including free time, family and friends and my school. Interwoven with these topics, pupils will also learn about many cultural aspects of Spanish-speaking countries such as traditional celebrations to further contextualise their learning of this fascinating language. Pupils will benefit from activities

developing their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills in order to gain confidence and enjoyment across all aspects of the language.

Year 8 Curriculum

Over the course of Year 8, pupils will extend their knowledge of the Spanish language, building on their learning from year 7. Pupils will learn more about the structure of the language, beginning to use different tenses to add complexity and interest to their speaking and writing. Pupils will continue to learn about the cultural aspects of the Hispanic world through mini case studies of other Spanish-speaking countries. During Year 8, pupils will also begin to examine short literary texts in Spanish to prepare them for further study. Pupils will again benefit from a wide range of activities developing all of their linguistic skills.

Year 9 Curriculum

In the year 9 course, pupils will continue to expand their knowledge of the Spanish language. Pupils will learn more about the structure of the language, beginning to use increasingly complex tenses and linguistic devices add fluency and natural-sounding language to their speaking and writing. The course becomes more outward-looking at this point allowing pupils to explore and express their opinion of the world around them, issues which affect young people, and their plans for the future. Pupils will continue to investigate cultural aspects of the Hispanic world through mini case studies and reading and writing tasks focusing on other Spanish-speaking countries. During Year 9, pupils will continue to familiarise themselves with short literary texts in Spanish to prepare them for the rigours of GCSE study.

We follow the AQA Spanish syllabus. This is an in-depth and rigourous qualification which contains all the practical and theoretical skills pupils need to use the Spanish language in an increasingly international world. This course gives pupils the opportunity to learn and practice many transferable skills which are useful in a wide range of careers, such as the ability to communicate clearly, both in spoken and written contexts, confidence in public speaking and the use of problem-solving strategies. It will also add an international dimension to their choice of GCSE subjects, which is something many employers and higher education providers value highly.

There are four examinations in Spanish taken at the end of Year 11. These are in speaking, listening, reading and writing in order to cover all necessary skills.

The aim of modern languages is to broaden both the horizons and minds of pupils, allowing them to learn more about the countries where the language is spoken, the cultures found there, and the people who speak it.