The MFL Department at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School offers a broad curriculum catering to the needs and interests of all our pupils and sets high expectations for all. Lessons provide pupils with a secure foundation in both vocabulary and grammar, covering all four skill areas (speaking, listening, reading and writing). As well as enabling our pupils to become competent linguists, we also endeavour to foster an awareness and appreciation of different cultures through a diverse Cultural Capital offering, and to allow pupils to see the value of language learning, and how this can better equip them for the future.

The MFL KS3 curriculum at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School covers a broad range of topics and equips pupils with the knowledge and motivation needed to go on to further study at KS4. Pupils will develop a strong understanding of key grammatical concepts and be able to apply these across several topics. They will also be able to confidently express themselves in the present, past and future tenses using key high-frequency verbs, in both written and spoken form. Content is revisited and built upon over the course of the learning journey in order to consolidate learning and increase complexity, allowing pupils to make significant progress.

Pupils are provided with a plethora of opportunities to put their learning into a real-life context and are encouraged to carry out independent learning which can be linked to their own personal interests. Literary texts, such as poems and songs, are used to deepen linguistic and cultural knowledge and encourage creativity.

Lessons provide opportunities to work with all four skill areas (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and include both group and independent work, in order to develop strong, meaningful communication skills and build linguistic confidence.

The KS4 MFL curriculum at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School builds upon content covered at KS3 and follows the Eduqas Examination Specification. Pupils cover three key themes, which are broken down into sub-themes:

Identity and culture

Youth Culture

•Self and relationships

• Technology and social media

Lifestyle

• Health and fitness

• Entertainment and leisure

Customs and Traditions

• Food and drink

• Festivals and celebrations

Local, national, international and global areas of interest

Home and Locality

• Local areas of interest

• Transport

France and French-speaking countries

• Local and regional features and characteristics

• Holidays and tourism

Global Sustainability

• Environment

• Social issues

Current and future study and employment

Current Study

• School/college life

• School/college studies

World of Work

• Work experience and part-time jobs

• Skills and personal qualities

Jobs and Future Plans

• Applying for work/study

• Career plans

Lessons continue to cover the four key skill areas (speaking, listening, reading and writing) in which pupils are assessed at the end of Year 11, with time spent covering exam technique. Pupils are encouraged to express their opinions and respond to others with spontaneity and accuracy and use key strategies to improve their work, for example, repair strategies to support error correction. Cultural Capital is embedded into the KS4 curriculum and pupils are exposed to the culture and identity of key French and Spanish-speaking countries and communities.

Our KS4 curriculum provides our pupils with a strong foundation to go on to further study at KS5 and beyond.