We recommend students have an A* or A at IGCSE or equivalent.
There are many reasons to study French at A Level.
Most obviously it provides the opportunity to take your French to a high level, far beyond IGCSE, in terms of range of vocabulary, knowledge of grammatical structures, fluency as a speaker and accuracy as a user of the language.
Having an additional language brings a considerable advantage when applying for a job either in a national or international context and opens up the possibility of studying in a French language university. It also makes travelling abroad more pleasurable and makes living in another country a more realistic goal.
The study of a French at A Level will also teach you how to think critically on a variety of topics, to express persuasive and coherent arguments and to research independently, all skills that will be useful at university and beyond.
French is a sensible choice to complement other subjects such as English literature, history and Spanish. It also is an excellent A Level to add another string to your bow if you are considering doing sciences or any other combination. It links to many potential degree courses, many of which can also be studied in combination with a modern language.
In the current A Level there are 12 “sub-themes”:
In addition, in Year 12 we study Louis Malle’s film Au revoir les enfants and in Year 13 we study Delphine de Vigan’s novel No et moi. It is hoped that this study will also encourage students to explore the wealth of French-language cinema and literature more extensively for their own pleasure.
The relevant grammatical structures and vocabulary are taught to enable students to express themselves fully and accurately on all of these topics, learning the ability to express nuance and to convince.
Through the study of these different topic areas students will learn listening, reading, speaking, writing and translation skills. They will learn how to use their French to argue and defend a position, to analyse, to summarise, improving their critical thinking and learning how to reach evidence-based conclusions.
In the preparation for the oral component, students will have freedom to choose their own topic and learn independent research skills and autonomy. Students have a weekly opportunity to speak with the language assistant on a one-to-one basis.
We have recently increased French A Level to nine periods a week to also prepare students for the French DALF C1. This qualification is generally required for French language university courses and is recognised by institutions and employers across the European Union. There is considerable overlap between the A Level and the C1 content and study for one will always be of benefit to the other.
During the course students are assessed through written and spoken assignments, presentations and tests.
French A Level is assessed in three exam papers taken in May and June of Year 13:
The DALF C1 is assessed in February of Year 13.
French is considered a “facilitating subject” by UK universities and therefore it can form part of an application to study any university degree. It can provide breadth to a scientific application, for example. It is essential for any students wishing to apply to study French at university and is highly recommended for any modern languages degree course or courses with a language component (e.g. business courses with a language). French A Level also builds transferable skills that are very useful for the following courses: English literature, film studies, politics, philosophy, history, international relations, European studies, linguistics, law, anthropology, sociology and many more!
As well as being an academic discipline, French is a language of great global importance and multinational companies value employees with a high level of competence. Perhaps ever more so post Brexit, the French language also plays a key role in the European Union. Graduates with a fluency in three languages (English, Spanish, French) are likely to be highly employable and an advanced level of French is necessary for study in French universities and is valued by universities in other European Union countries.
French is also a basic tool for communication that is a great advantage for travelling in French speaking regions (and also elsewhere where French may be the second language). As well as practical advantages a language is essential for forming personal relations. A good knowledge of French will make learning further languages easier, and also opens up French language literature, music, cinema and culture to those who are curious.