The Languages Faculty has eight specialist language teachers, supported by French, Spanish and German language assistants. Our aim is to give a feeling of enjoyment and success in using languages. Some of our students won first place in a national languages competition by creating a French radio programme for Radio 5 and staff were selected to appear in a Channel 4 programme that trains teachers in the best methods of teaching languages.

The main languages in the curriculum are French, Spanish and German.  Students also have the opportunity to study twelve different languages, including Japanese, Swedish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Danish, Croatian etc, as part of Languages Week!  We aim to introduce students to other ways of life within Europe and worldwide and to develop imaginative as well as creative talents through drama, cross-curricular projects and song.  In Years 10 and 11 students can opt for one, two or three languages to GCSE.  Year 12 linguists won the prestigious National Languages for Export Award following their highly successful exchange with Privas in France.  Our Euro 2004 Project, which was showcased nationally, won the European Languages Award.  We have also featured on Teachers TV!

In the Sixth Form AS/A2 courses are available in French, German and Spanish and are popular options, not only for future students of languages in Higher Education but, increasingly, for those wanting a language to enhance their career prospects in other fields.