A LEVEL
Our closest continental cousins. Home to the world’s best bike ride. Tall towers, boundless bridges (we’re mad about Millau), breath taking beaches (Fréjus – fabulous), delicious desserts and charming castles.
While the first written records of France hail from the Iron Age, stone tools show early humans were present in France at least 1.57 million years ago.
France has had plenty of time for practicing being a fantastic country. On this course, you’ll be exploring the fruits of all that labour, as we journey across la belle France to experience modern life from Provence to Paris.
Learn French for your passport to a lifetime of fantastic holidays. And doubtless you’ll find the language invaluable in your professional life – not only if you’re getting a job that requires bilingual abilities, but also because much of our English vocabulary is derived from French.
French is both a working language and an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross.
It’s one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. More than 300 million people speak French across all five continents. And it’s a great starter language if you want to study others such as Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
In your French cultural studies at Xaverian you’ll dive deep into the nation’s celebrated cooking, fashion, theatre, art, dance and architecture scene.
We’ll learn about its icons who include Victor Hugo, Molière, Edith Piaf, Jean-Paul Sartre and Alain Delon.
Once you’ve completed this course you might want to study at one of the many prestigious French universities or business schools.
We’ll spend a lot of time watching French television and movies to not only grow your appreciation of modern French culture – but also to help train your ear to the speed of which this language is taught.
We’ll start with subtitles to help you follow along but by the end of your course you’ll doubtless be following along perfectly fine without them.
The internet makes it easy to access French-language media, from TV5Monde and France 24 to Radio France Internationale.
All you need to do is make the right choice – French at Xaverian!
We’re going to kick things off by testing your existing knowledge of France and its many world-class celebrations.
Then we’ll test your vocabulary with words and phrases regularly cropping up during your French studies here at Xaverian.
You’ll be in high demand around the world as you progress towards being bilingual.
Jobs in your future might include:
Your French A-level will equip you with some powerful skills preparing you for higher education success. French is an analytical language – so you’ll be required every step of the way to structure thought and develop advanced critical thinking techniques.
Continue your French studies at university and you’ll not only specialise in one of your favourite aspects of Gallic culture, but also get the chance for an extended stay in France.
Or you might want to do all your studies in France. Many of our students have lived there for three years to gain a ‘Licence’ degree – equivalent to a Bachelors degree in the UK.
A research project and presentation. 5-6 minutes theme-based discussion.
Questions which may include true/false statements, multiple choice, questions and answers and comprehension questions in French, German or Spanish.
Questions based on texts in French, German or Spanish
An unseen passage or passages from French, German or Spanish into English plus an unseen passage or passages from English into French, German or Spanish.
Candidates write an essay of approximately 300 words on each of the two works, one book, one film, they have studied.
Six good passes at GCSE including two at grade 6 or above
Grade 5 from English, Grade 5 from French
2 years
Exams and externally moderated assessments
Linear A-level
Eduqas
The MFL Department at Xaverian offers A-level courses in French, German or Spanish. There are currently 135 students following the taught programmes but we also aim to give Xaverian students the opportunity to try new languages or hone their own language skills.
Students applying for A-level courses are encouraged to have a grade 6 at GCSE. Our native speaker programme meant AS & A2 levels were sat in many languages in the 2019 session, including Farsi, Portuguese, Turkish Polish and Dutch. The results were outstanding with 100% achievement rates in all subjects
Thanks to its excellent A Level results, Xaverian College has been chosen by the University of Cambridge as the north west hub of its Widening Participation for Languages Project.
What does that mean for you? Students will get the chance to learn from visiting expert linguists not only in French but many other unusual languages – such as Japanese, or Czech.
It’s all part of an initiative by the University of Cambridge to establish language hubs around the country and develop and encourage learning.
Two Xaverian students, Ben Haughton, previously a student at West Hill School and studying A Levels in Biology, Geography and Psychology and Reuben Rowbotham-Keating, previously …
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance visit Xaverian College on an annual basis to run performance masterclasses, spending hours coaching A Level Music and …
Ten outstanding students from Xaverian College have received offers to study at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Following months of intensive …
Two Xaverian students, Ben Haughton, previously a student at West Hill School and studying A Levels in Biology, Geography and Psychology and Reuben Rowbotham-Keating, previously …
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance visit Xaverian College on an annual basis to run performance masterclasses, spending hours coaching A Level Music and …
Ten outstanding students from Xaverian College have received offers to study at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Following months of intensive …
