Institution: Bristol Metropolitan College (formerly Whitefield Fishponds Community School)

'We really value the Asset Languages scheme as a means of accrediting each stage of the students’ language learning in a way that succeeds in motivating them to achieve.' Theresa Thorne, Head Teacher

Context
Whitefield Fishponds Community School was Bristol’s first Specialist Language College and is a multi-ethnic mixed comprehensive 11-16 school covering an urban population. The roll is currently 664 but there is constant inward mobility. The school is proud of the cultural diversity of the community it serves where there is a significant amount of social deprivation.

As part of the Pathfinder project for Building Schools of the Future, it reopened in April 2008 as Bristol Metropolitan College.

The ethnic profile of the school is changing significantly. The ethnicity breakdown has 54 percent BOME students and 46 percent White British, with increasing numbers of Black African (Somali) and Polish students. There are 36 percent English as an Additional Language (EAL) students (242 students, of whom currently 45 receive daily intervention). There are currently 30 languages spoken in the school community. With our Community Languages specialism, it is vital to track the language proficiency of every student. A record is kept of the languages spoken and, where possible, qualifications are taken to accredit the languages.

Key objectives
To accredit a range of languages in KS3 and KS4 using Asset Languages.

How the programme is organised
All students study 2 languages in KS3 — French plus German or Arabic.

In KS4 all, apart from a very small number of disapplied students, take a language — GCSE French, German, Urdu or Arabic or CBLC French. Community languages are accredited where possible and the school has developed a website to support Bristol teachers with the process. Our departmental team was restructured to offer a responsibility post to a colleague, Said Benchama, whose role is to co-ordinate community languages.

In the past, these languages have been taken at GCSE — Dutch, Polish, Panjabi, Bengali, Chinese, Turkish, Chinese and Portuguese.

Since the advent of Asset Languages, Urdu, Arabic, Somali, Panjabi, French and German have all been accredited in KS3 and 4. This has mostly been in listening and reading. 

'It's funny, but good to do an exam in our language. I loved hearing the people speak.'
Asset Languages Student

For students of Arabic, Polish and Dutch who have gained GCSE early, we have taught and entered students successfully for AS and A level in Year 11 (Polish in conjunction with the Bristol Polish School).

Results/effect
The very active promotion of community languages through accreditation such as Asset has improved the effort and attitude of many of the students. As a specialist school, the College provides support for other secondaries locally, putting them in touch with examiners in community languages, and providing advice and support regarding different accreditation. The College has worked with Cotham School, Oasis Academy and Merchant’s Academy. It is able to provide support re examining and accreditation in Arabic, Urdu, Polish, Somali, Turkish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian and Spanish, on top of French and German.

• 91 percent of all students gained accreditation in 2008 in at least one MFL of 11 languages (French, German, Arabic, Urdu, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese or Somali).
• 89 percent (137/154 students) achieved GCSE (A*-G) or equivalent in one MFL.
• 14 students achieved Level 2 CBLC (equivalent to 2 x B at GCSE)
• 5 students achieved three A*-C passes in MFL
• 17 students gained GCSE as early entry
• We are proud of these results and do not foresee any drop in the figures.

Support teachers for Polish and Somali are a vital focus for speakers of those two languages and provide huge linguistic, social and curriculum-based support. Our support workers in Polish and Somali form an excellent bridge between communities and facilitate relations. The Polish support worker teaches in the Polish Supplementary School.

The University of the West of England, the lead university in the Routes into Languages Government initiative within the South-West region, is interested in how Asset is being used at the school and will be collecting information on this.

Future developments

• It is hoped to add writing and speaking at KS3, and maybe experiment with taking exams during differing exam windowsm, ie not taking every exam at once. At KS4 C/D borderline candidates will be entered for two skills in the hope of gaining a half GCSE equivalent.
• It is planned to introduce Somali Preliminary and Intermediate when available and to put Polish and Somali in the curriculum for Year 7 this year.
• Various languages and skills will be accredited using Asset. This will give opportunities for certification to students who will not access a GCSE at KS4 eg Special Educational Needs (SEN) students, and students with script languages who can speak and listen but not read and write at the same level.

Author: David Spence, Director of Language Learning, Bristol Metropolitan College