Welcome to the MFL department. In this section of the website, you will find important information for the department as well as some useful links to our curriculum page. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
| Teacher | Role | |
| Mr C. Simpson | Head of Department and Teacher of French | csimpson@brs.srscmat.co.uk |
| Mr C. Jimenez | Teacher of Spanish | cjimenez@brs.srscmat.co.uk |
Within MFL, home learning will be set on a weekly basis for Years 10 and 11 and a fortnightly basis for Years 7, 8 and 9 by the class teacher. Students will be able to find this on Arbor and should have written the task and deadline in their planner.
We use Seneca, which is an online subject specific question-based platform and which links directly to the exam board that we teach at KS4. As your child moves into KS4, homework will begin to incorporate exam practice questions to prepare them for sitting their GCSE.
If your child is unable to access home learning online, please ensure that the department is aware so that accessible homework can be set for your child.
Seneca Learning – https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/
You will need your pencil case with you every lesson with the whole school expected equipment. We recommend that you have 4 different colour highlighters or coloured pens to support annotation of texts. In addition, you should have your subject knowledge organiser which you will require for every lesson. It is your responsibility to bring this to school if you take it home to revise from.
Moreover, it is essential that you have your mini whiteboard, whiteboard pens and a rubber with you every lesson which will form part of your knowledge retrieval exercises in class.
You will need to ensure that you put your equipment on the desk at the start of each lesson along with your planner as they all form part of your learning.
In MFL, we strive to acknowledge our students’ successes. Students will experience reward and recognition through the award of achievement points, phone calls or emails home as well as through the school newsletter where appropriate.
Reading and reading skills are a core part of the MFL curriculum and is specifically examined at GCSE level. From Year 7, students are taught the importance of making links between French/Spanish and their existing knowledge of English by highlighting cognates and near cognates in texts. Students are encouraged to break all reading tasks down into their smallest chunks to aid with their completing reading tasks.
As a department, we are also keen that students read more-widely in both French and Spanish and have sourced a range of age-appropriate texts that students would benefit from reading. We have, wherever possible, sought dual-coded texts in French/Spanish and English.
European Day of Languages
European Day of Languages, celebrated each year on 26 September, is a Europe‑wide initiative that promotes linguistic diversity, cultural understanding, and the lifelong joy of language learning. Established by the Council of Europe in 2001, it encourages people of all ages to explore new languages, appreciate the value of multilingualism, and recognise how languages strengthen cooperation across nations. Schools, cultural organisations and communities mark the day with activities ranging from taster lessons and quizzes to cultural events and international food fairs, all aimed at celebrating Europe’s rich tapestry of languages and inspiring learners to see languages as a gateway to opportunity, connection, and global citizenship.
Blessed Robert Sutton will be taking part in this event where language lessons and whole school activities will focus on the importance of language learning.
Japanese Club – open to all students with an interest in Japan and who want to learn how to speak and write in Japanese.
Spanish Film Club – again, open to all students who want to develop their Spanish language skills via film.
We use the AQA exam board for GCSE qualifications in French and Spanish.
You will find links to the exam board’s specification and recommended revision materials below:
GCSE French 8652 | Specification | Scheme Of Assessment | AQA
GCSE Spanish (8692)
The MFL Department strives to prepare students to be active and engaged members of society after they leave school. Whilst our focus is to develop students’ knowledge of foreign languages (skills that are highly prized by employers), our department also equips students with a range of other competences which are important in life after school. Some of the things we do are:
As well as this, students are made aware of careers paths that languages can take them down. Having a degree in a language can open many different careers for students, such as:
This list is not exhaustive and is ever-changing. Having a degree in French or Spanish or some form of education in French or Spanish opens so many routes for students.
If you have any questions, please contact your child’s MFL teacher.
