Spanish
Spanish
Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, with 450 million speakers across 21 countries over four continents.
Speaking other languages is an increasingly valuable skill which promotes tolerance and opens up a wider choice of career opportunities. As a Romance language, learning Spanish facilitates the acquisition of other languages such as French, Italian or Portuguese.
The Spanish Department aims to instil a love for the language and culture of the Hispanic world in pupils, furnishing them with the linguistic skills and cultural understanding that will enable them to communicate confidently in Spanish around the world, whilst providing them with a valuable range of transferrable skills for the future.
Our progressive and engaging curriculum covers a variety of topics on which pupils build a strong base of vocabulary and grammar. The department promotes an innovative teaching style which makes effective use of technology to enhance learning, including the use of the Virtual Boardroom to organise videoconferences with schools in Spain.
We offer two extremely popular trips abroad to help our girls practice their language skills. We run a biennial cultural trip to Barcelona for Years 8 and 9 and a biennial study trip to Salamanca for GCSE and A-level students, where they attend language lessons and stay with Spanish host families.
Pupils have access to a broad range of opportunities to pursue their interest in Spanish, such as lunchtime clubs, competitions, theatre and restaurant visits, as well as external conferences for GCSE and A-level when they are available.
We follow the AQA specification for both GCSE and A-lLevel. Both courses are taught exclusively by experienced native Spanish speakers who are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and supportive. The department is extremely proud of its success in external examinations, and over the years a high number of students have continued to pursue Spanish at university either on its own or as a combined degree.