- Spanish

Spanish

Students of Spanish develop their confidence and enthusiasm for the language, using it to listen, speak, read and write.  Horizons are widened and new areas of knowledge, experience and language skills are opened up, giving personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement.  Students learn about Spanish-speaking countries and communities, as well as covering topics like social and global issues – taking their place as citizens in a multilingual, global society.

KS3

At KS3 level the students have the opportunity to learn how to: greet other people and provide personal information; describe their family and pets; describe their school and the subjects they study; describe the area where they live and their house; describe what they do in their spare time; buy food, clothes and other products in shops; order food in a restaurant; describe clothes.

GCSE

Exam Board:  CCEA

Breakdown of course

Students develop their knowledge and understanding by studying three Contexts for Learning: Identity, Lifestyle and Culture, National, International and Global Areas of Interest and School Life, Studies and the World of Work.

Through these contexts, pupils have the opportunity to understand and explore issues in Spanish such as: relationships: families and friends, home and local area, daily routine and leisure activities, health and lifestyle: diet, exercise and illness, problems in society and equality, travel and tourism, environmental issues, media and communications, celebrations: festivals and customs, school life, part-time jobs and future plans.

There are 4 external exams taken at the end of year 12 – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

There are 2 tiers of entry for the Listening, Reading and Writing papers. The Speaking examination is untiered.

Decisions on which tier to enter are based on the pupil progress and the results of the mock examinations sat in the second term of Year 12.

A Level

Exam Board: CCEA

Breakdown of course

GCE Spanish gives students the opportunity to explore two broad areas of interest. These are:

Social issues and trends; and either political culture, intellectual culture or artistic culture.

In addition to class hours. pupils have sessions with the Spanish assistant to develop their spoken Spanish skills.

Students explore the areas of interest by studying four themes:

At AS these are Relationships and Culture and Lifestyle.

At A2 these are Young People in Society and Our Place in a Changing World.

There are three AS modules sat the end of Year 13

Paper 1: Speaking Test conducted by an external examiner. Students give a 3 minute presentation based on a topic of their choice, relating to the AS contexts for learning and have a conversation in Spanish.

Paper 2: Listening, Reading Comprehension, Translation into English and Use of Language.

Paper 3: Extended Writing Paper based on the film, “Solas”

There are three A2 modules sat at the end of Year 14

        Paper 1: Speaking Test conducted by an external examiner. Students introduce and discuss an    

        individual research project and have a conversation in Spanish.

        Paper 2: Listening, Reading Comprehension, Summary and Translation into Spanish.

        Paper 3: Extended Writing Paper based on the play, “La Casa de Bernarda Alba”.

Career Opportunities

Learning Spanish promotes good communication skills and valuable transferable skills, including working effectively with others and understanding local and global perspectives.

As a linguist, the academic, professional and technical skills that students develop are useful across a wide range of professions. In an increasingly interconnected world, these skills can prepare students to succeed in a variety of careers such as business, education and other professional fields.

Jobs using languages include Interpreter, Secondary school teacher, Translator, Broadcast journalist, Diplomatic Services operational officer, English as a foreign language teacher Event organiser, Logistics and distribution manager, Marketing executive, Patent examiner, Retail buyer, Sales executive, Solicitor, Tour manager. Our recent past pupils have gone on to study third level courses such as Law and Spanish, Nursing, Spanish with Business Studies and Spanish with French.

Trip Opportunities

In October 2024, 42 Key Stage 4 and 5 Spanish students visited Barcelona, enjoying the sights of the city as well spending a day at the theme park, Portaventura.  We also attended classes in our link school, Anne Sullivan International School, Barcelona. We look forward to hosting their pupils in the near future and further developing this link.

Share this page

Other information in: Departments
Latest News