KEY STAGE 3

Students will be introduced to the Spanish-speaking world in Year 7, through a variety of topics designed to develop their language skills by using language immersion and topic-based learning.

Year 7 will open students’ eyes to the language and world of Spanish and develop their curiosity for the subject. During year 7 students will cover the following units:

• Essential Spanish
• Myself, family and friends
• Free time
• Where I live
• School

Throughout Years 8 & 9, students will look at topics studied throughout Year 7 in more depth, as well as looking at their daily life and the world around them. They will also begin to develop more complex grammatical concepts and widen their vocabulary. 

During year 8 students will cover the following units;

• Where I live
• School
• Healthy living
• Holidays
• Technology

During year 9 students will cover the following units;

• Healthy lifestyles
• Holidays
• Technology
• Fashion
• Daily routines
• Hispanic culture

KEY STAGE 4

Students are given the opportunity to continue to study Spanish in Year 10 and 11. This is an AQA GCSE course and students work towards completing 4 separate exams at the end of Year 11 in the 4 key language skills (Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking). 

The course has both Foundation and Higher levels and is split into the following 3 themes:

• Theme 1: Identity & Culture
• Theme 2: Local, national, international & global areas of interest
• Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

The GCSE course is intense and engaging for all students wishing to take part as they explore both the language and culture of the Hispanic World. The themes in key stage four cover a wide range of topics including abstract and subjective concepts such as global and social issues. Students will prepare to answer questions verbally using a range of grammatical structures as well as in depth extended written pieces.

What Parents/Carers can do to help:

Your child has been given a Knowledge Organiser for each topic they study. This summarizes the key information they must know if they are to be successful in this subject. Please encourage them to learn the key words and phrases off by heart and revise topics regularly. Every student will be set homework via GCSE pod and Quizlet/flashcards. This is a vital tool to improve students’ exam skills and vocabulary retrieval.