Insitution: Wyvern Technology College

Context

Wyvern is a Specialist Technology and Humanities College with 1300 students aged 11-16 where in 2008 67% of students gained five or more A*-Cs including English and Maths. The school is situated on the outskirts of the town of Eastleigh. The area is fairly affluent but the percentage of parents with higher education qualifications is relatively low. The intake is truly comprehensive in terms of ability but monocultural in terms of ethnicity, with 99% being White British. All students take MFL until the end of Year 9 and then languages are an options subject. GCSE courses begin in all other subjects at the beginning of Year 9. If Year 9 entry did not occur the vast majority of the target group would not opt for MFL in Years 10 and 11 and would leave the school without a qualification in a foreign language.

Key objectives
The aim is to give the students an enjoyable and rewarding challenge of doing a GCSE early. The topics are accessible to students in Years 8 and 9 age and arguably even more appropriate than for those in Years 10 and 11. They are also more willing to speak and put more enthusiasm into preparing for speaking assessments on these topics than older students. They can then continue their work on their target language by taking AS over two years, take GCSE in another language in two years, or take another option with a GCSE in MFL under their belt. We have an agreement with two local sixth form colleges where students can take A2 in Year 12. The first students to do this are taking A2 successfully this year and their teachers are very pleased with them. Students enjoy the AS topics in Years 10 and 11 which they find more interesting and stimulating for them than the GCSE topics.

How the programme is organised
The target group is the 40% of the cohort with the highest attainment levels at Key Stage 2 and the highest CAT scores, this represents approximately 110 students in each year group. Students all come in with at least three years of French at primary school and a common scheme of work is agreed by the four feeder schools. Students are banded from Year 7 so they can be prepared for the GCSE course starting in Year 8. It has been discovered that if they do German GCSE the languages skills they have picked up at primary school can be transferred to their new language and results at GCSE in Year 9 are as good as or better than in French. For many students a change of language at this stage is beneficial.

Meetings are organised for parents at the beginning of Year 8 when staff outline why they are fast-tracking their children and the benefits for them. Parents are shown videos of students talking about how they found the course. When the parents see results comparing favourably with national results and the fact that boys do as well as girls they are reassured.

All teachers in the department are involved in teaching the course and enthusiasm is such that all have attended information evenings for parents. The school alternates with French and German as the students’ language, one year’s intake French, the following year German, then French again. Spanish is taught as a second GCSE in Years 10 and 11. French and German are both taught to AS level.

Year 9 students have two days off timetable to prepare them for the listening/reading and writing exams. The teachers make these days fun with a variety of activities and games and provide food. 

Evidence of success
Year 9 results have been described as outstanding by an OFSTED inspector and the County Inspectorate, who have followed the scheme from Year 8 to Year 12 have recommended it as an example of good practice. In 2008 90% of the boys and 91% of the girls gained a C or above at GCSE with 20% of the students gaining A or A*. Students describe the course as well-structured and report that they find that they can cope with the course without undue stress as they feel well prepared. Results at AS were very pleasing, with a third gaining a grade A and 71% gaining A or B.

The benefit for the college is that students gain confidence from their achievement in a GCSE in an MFL in Year 9 and are motivated to perform better in their other GCSEs. Their expectations of achieving high grades are higher than in earlier years. The percentage of those gaining five A*-As rose from 14% to 27% in the year the first cohort reached Year 11.

As this is the only exam they do in Year 9, the students are able to devote a lot of effort to it. They generally respond well to the challenge. The difference, especially for the boys, compared to a situation where they can give up a language at the end of Year 9 without a valid qualification is marked. Feedback from the students in questionnaires from outside agencies and from within the school is very positive and German and French are amongst the top three most popular subjects in the college. Since the school started fast tracking the numbers taking part in exchanges has more than doubled.

“When I came into my normal German class expecting another lesson learning a language I got a shock. My German teacher told us that we were now one of the first groups to do GCSE two years early! My first thought was “What?! I’m never going to be able to cope with this!” But now I look back on that day and think there was nothing to worry about! I feel that I have really achieved something in my education, and that I can say that I have done a whole GCSE at 13 years old and will be doing AS Level at 15 years of age. I’m really glad that I have done this, because if I hadn’t I don’t think I would have taken German as an option, which would have been a real mistake because learning the language has been very enjoyable.” Student on the fast track programme.

Future developments
Those not taking GCSE in Year 9 are taking Asset Languages Qualifications. To give them extra motivation, they are taught two languages in Year 9 and they will work towards  Asset Languages certificates in both languages.

Author: Bob Lord, Curriculum Leader, MFL