Department
Modern Languages
  • Modern Languages Department

  • The learning of a foreign language is a holistic discipline that should appeal to students across a broad spectrum of intellectual interests. Natural scientists and mathematicians can find new challenges in the linguistic aspects and generative structures of unfamiliar languages, whilst artists, humanists and social scientists can find a gateway to new ideas on aesthetics, politics and philosophy. Either way, a new language offers new forms of thinking and new ways of viewing the world in which we live.

    This breadth of content and appeal is ingrained in the courses we offer at Akademeia, as Modern Language A Levels are some of the most interdisciplinary qualifications open to students at the 16-18 age level. As well as learning the language itself, students have the opportunity to delve into politics, sociology, economics, history, literature and film, any of which they can develop through their own structured research project.

I really like that instead of only focusing on the language itself

we also go into disciplines such as literature, philosophy or sociology, which gives a deeper insight into German culture and makes the interaction with the language much more interesting.

Josefina, Year 12 student

The learning of modern languages at the school reflects the interdisciplinary ethos

that underpins Akademeia’s approach to education as a whole with lessons designed around cultural experience as much as linguistic practice. Whilst the A Level course itself requires research into history, art, literature, and politics, this is supported by a full co-curricular programme (including excursions abroad and more specific language options), which encourages the development of skills to be applied across the curriculum.

Dr Keith Walmsley
Head of Modern Languages Department

Modern Languages Syllabi

Pearson Edexcel IGCSE (French, German, Spanish)

  • Home and abroad
  • Education and employment
  • Personal life and relationships
  • The world around us
  • Social activities, fitness and health

Pearson Edexcel GCSE (Russian)

  • Identity and culture
  • Local area, holiday and travel
  • School
  • Future aspirations, study and work
  • International and global dimension
I think what I like the most about studying languages at Akademeia

is that we don’t just learn grammar by memorizing, but we also speak a lot and use the structures that we have learned before.

Hanna, Year 11 student

Pearson Edexcel A Level (French, German, Spanish, Russian)

French

  1. Changes in French society: family, education, the world of work.
  2. Political and artistic culture in francophone countries: music, the media, festivals and traditions.
  3. Immigration and multiculturism in France: the positive impact of immigration, the challenges posed by emigration and immigration, the rise of the extreme right in France.
  4. The Nazi occupation of France, 194o-1944: France occupied, the Vichy regime, the French Resistance.

German

  1. Changes in German society: ecological trends, education, the world of work.
  2. Political and artistic culture in germanophone countries: music, the media, festivals and traditions.
  3. Immigration and multiculturism in Germany: the positive impact of immigration, the challenges posed by emigration and immigration, the government’s response to immigration.
  4. The reunification of Germany: East Germany before reunification, the road to reunification, Germany since reunification.

Spanish

  1. Changes in Spanish society: family, education, the impact of tourism on Spanish society.
  2. Political and artistic culture in Hispanophone countries: music, the media, festivals and traditions.
  3. Immigration and multiculturism in Spain: the positive impact of immigration, the challenges posed by emigration and immigration, the government’s response to immigration.
  4. Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy: The Civil War and the rise of Franco (1936-1939), Franco’s dictatorship, the transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Russian

  1. The development of Russian society: youth in Russia, education, the world of work.
  2. Political and artistic culture in Russophone countries: popular culture, the media, festivals and traditions.
  3. Moscow or Saint-Petersburg: demographic changes, social problems, urban development and pollution.
  4. The last years of the USSR: “Perestroika, Glasnost”, 1991 and the fall of the USSR.
I love the level of study:

nothing we do is too easy or too difficult. We always do something that challenges us.

Nathalie, Year 10 student 

University Options

Students with a modern language A Level have many opportunities for further study, whether they wish to pursue a languages degree or add an extra dimension to a more vocational discipline by combining their language of choice with another subject of interest.

The best UK universities for degrees in modern languages (from ‘The Guardian University Guide 2020: Modern Languages and Linguistics’) are listed below:

  1. The University of Cambridge
  2. The University of St Andrews
  3. The University of Oxford
  4. The University of Lancaster
  5. The University of Newcastle
  6. The University of Surrey
  7. The University of Durham
  8. The University of Southa  mpton
  9. The University of Bristol
  10. The University of Leicester
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