In addition to the National Curriculum aims, our ambitious curriculum for MFL at DSTC is designed:

• To prepare students to become successful learners who enjoy learning about the language and exploring their culture, make progress and achieve.
• To create a learning environment where students feel confident to make mistakes and learn from them.
• To provide opportunities for all students to express themselves in another language (listening, speaking, reading and writing skills) with increasing confidence, independence and creativity.

We aspire to give the students the opportunity to build their confidence, express themselves, gauge their own progress and develop skills such as the ability to work in a team, problem-solving skills and open-mindedness. We aim to create a learning environment where students feel confident to make mistakes and learn from them.

Complementary Subjects:

• English for language terminology, awareness of grammar (e.g. tenses), range of vocabulary, complex sentence structures.
• Essay subjects (e.g. Humanities, English) for general literacy, planning skills, sequencing ideas and wider vocabulary (often French, Latin or Greek in origin).
• Science and PE for general knowledge of health and fitness.

KS3

 

On the curriculum journey from Key Stage 3 (Year 7, 8 and 9) to Key Stage 4 (Year 10 to 11), students develop their linguistic competencies in each of the four skill areas; speaking, listening, reading and writing.  In Year 7, topics include sports and hobbies, places in town, school and food, whilst learning how to become more confident with the language, adapting and developing the language with the use of opinions, connectives, time phrases, and the use of different tenses.

In Year 8, students progress to cover various topics such as holidays, food and drink and family topics whilst developing an understanding of grammar points including all three different tenses. In Year 9, students cover various topics such as free time, professions, holidays and health. They deepen their understanding of grammar, including complex sentences and more sophisticated vocabulary and syntax.

The Kent University Languages Day provides an opportunity for Year 8 students to sample a range of cultures and see what a university is like. We continue to explore opportunities for future school trips to France or extracurricular activities within our country.

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Year 7	Vocabulary relating to: introducing yourself, ages and birthdays, classroom vocabulary, freetime activities, colours and opinions	Pets, family, Where I live, food and drink (including common French breakfast items), nationalities, languages and weather Xmas in France	Opinions and reasons Essential school items Physical and character description   Valentine’s Day	School subject opinions and reasons Times and timetables School life in France School dinners Easter in France	Technology, free time and opinions   Sports	Home Town: Places of interest, weekend activities, places to go. Revision End of Year French Project
Year 8	Holidays	Free time, media and technology	Tourism in Paris: Attractions and activities	Personal qualities, relationships. Musical taste. Fashion	House and Home Food and meals Making crêpes Carnival	My talents Talent shows Describing contestants   Revision End of Year French Project
Year 9	Free time and social life Social media Arranging to go out Describing a date Music	Part of the body Sport and fitness Healthy eating Staying fit	Jobs and ambitions Languages in the workplace My childhood Future ambitions Job descriptions	Holidays Holiday items and holiday camp	Rights and responsibility. Priorities Fair trade Happiness	GCSE prep Personal information, verbs, adjectives, connectives and intensifiers. Revision End of Year French Project

Further Reading/Resources:

• CPG Key Stage 3 French Complete Revision & Practice (with Free Online Edition & Audio), BBC Bitesize Key Stage 3 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zgdqxn)

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KS4

 

In Year 10, students who have opted for French as a GCSE Option start a two-year GCSE course with the AQA exam board. In Year 10, students study modules 1–5 and in Year 11, modules 6 to 8.

The examination comprises 4 components, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. All skills are equally weighted and each contribute 25% towards a student’s final GCSE grade. Students are taught to understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.

They are encouraged to speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say. As far as writing is concerned, by the end of Key Stage 4, students should write at varying lengths, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.

We are exploring opportunities for future school trips to France or extracurricular activities within our country.

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Year 10	FREE TIME Talking about: What you do online, pros and cons. What you watch. Making plans to go out What you did last weekend.	IDENTITY AND CULTURE. Talking about: Your identity Your weekend routine Friends and friendship Favourite celebrity Positive role models celebrations and traditions	SCHOOL LIFE Talking about: School subjects and school life. School rules Making progress at school. What school used to be like. Learning Languages.	HEALTHY LIFESTYLE Talk about: meals and mealtimes. Good mental health Unhealthy lifestyle choices What you will do to improve your life Lifestyle changes.	HOLIDAYS Talking about: Holiday and accommodation Ideal holiday Preparation for PPEs	Preparation for PPEs
Year 11	HOLIDAYS Talking about: What you can see and do on a holiday Festivals Reviewing and booking holiday accommodation Staycation holidays	ENVIRONMENT Talking about: Geography and the climate Environmental problems Protecting the environment New technologies	HOME AND TOWN Talking about: Your town or village and ideal home Shopping for clothes Understanding and asking for directions	JOBS, HOPES AND FUTURE PLANS Talking about: Summer plans Future plans and hopes Reality TV and influencers Possible future career paths	GCSE Exam revision	GCSE Exam revision

Further Reading/Resources:

• CPG GUIDE - New GCSE French AQA Complete Revision & Practice with CGP RevisionHub (for exams from 2026)
• GCSE French  BITESIZE - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z9dqxnb