Institution: Henry Cort Community College
'It's hard work but
worth it!' Steve King, Head of Languages at Henry Cort.
Context
The Henry Cort Community College is situated to the south west of
Fareham. The college is an 11-16 community comprehensive college. A
new principal was appointed in September 2006. The proportion of
students with learning difficulties and disabilities is below
average as is the proportion of students entitled to free college
meals. Most students are of White British origin. The college is a
specialist college in sport (from 2003) and uses this and its
community college status to ensure an extensive range of links with
its local communities.
Key objectives
- To achieve the best possible results in GCSE languages by using
a modular GCSE course in French and German to all students in
KS4.
- To increase enjoyment of languages at GCSE level. The modular
course gives staff the opportunity to praise students for their
progress as they are collecting marks towards their final GCSE in
each module.
How the programme is organised
Modular
GCSE is used for both French and German. The school has been
following the AQA Specification B since
its inception.
There are 4 modules in the course:
- Module 1 — prepare a 3 - 4 minute tape in MFL by
December/January
- Module 2 — tiered listening and reading exam in May of Year
10
- Module 3 — 2 pieces of written coursework by December of Year
11
- Module 4 — 50% GCSE in April - June of Year 11 in all
skills.
Hours per week required: 4-5
Results/effect
From 2000-2005 the school achieved the best best results in
Hampshire for French. In 2007 they were fourth in terms of those
colleges still offering French to over 150 cohorts.
Future developments
It is planned to continue with the modular GCSE course. The school
is also interested in offering languages in the new Diplomas.
Author: Steve King, Head of Languages