French A level
Qualification: GCE A Level in French
Exam Board & Specification Code: AQA; 7652; Specification
Course Entry Requirements: 4 in English Language GCSE and 6 in French GCSE
Please make sure that you have understood the overall entry requirements to study at BHASVIC. These are available here and outline the GCSE grades you need to take up one of the Study Programmes at the college.
Length and size of qualification: 2 year single course
Timetable hours: 5.75 hours per week including language support sessions
Assessment method: 2 exams of varying length plus 1 oral exam
BHASVIC Department: Languages & Culture
What will I study?
You will learn to communicate fluently in the language both orally and in writing. You will read and listen to authentic material in order to develop your comprehension skills and to widen your knowledge of the culture. You will study topics, literary texts and films relevant to the country/countries where the language is spoken.
Is this course right for me?
Did you enjoy the language at GCSE? Do you want to become fluent and develop your linguistic and cultural knowledge? Good linguists are risk takers and naturally inquisitive. At this level you need to be rigorous in your learning and very accurate in your application of knowledge. This course will develop your language skills while giving you an insight into cultural and political issues in the Francophone World.
Frequently asked questions
Students will be very fluent in discussing the 12 topics covered in the course and will have the ability to talk about film and literature too. They will have the language they need to understand and express arguments, points of view and convey quite complex ideas. They will have the grammar they need to be on the point of becoming fluent. In order to become fluent they will need to spend some time in a French speaking country, but they have all the skills they need to do this.
Yes. Many students with a French speaking parent or students who have lived in a French speaking country for some time choose to do this course in order to perfect their grammar and practise their language skills at a high level. This course also gives them a formal qualification. In any French A level class there can be up to 4 “bilingual” students. They work hard to achieve a high grade by learning subject specific vocabulary and improving their grammar.
This varies from 45 to 80 depending on the year. Students are sorted into 3 or 4 groups and the maximum in any group is 22 but the average is 18/19.
We accept all students who have achieved a grade 6 at GCSE and we recognise that some of them will have struggled to achieve the grade 6 while others will be much more confident. We work with every student to move them on from their starting point, whatever that is.
Yes we do. Every student has different strengths and weaknesses and no student arrives with all they need to do French A level. As above, we take students from their own starting point, we work out what they each need to do to move forward and we make sure they have the resources and support to improve in whatever aspect of the course they most need to work on.
Where next?
Language learning is inextricably bound up with history, culture, business and economics. There are well attested advantages of speaking more than one language. Linguists are increasingly in demand in many sectors of industry. You may consider a degree purely in languages / linguistics / European Studies, leading to a wide variety of careers including, but not limited to, translation, interpreting, teaching, publishing, journalism and marketing. A language can also be combined with most subjects at higher education level, for example law, international relations, politics, media, business or sciences. Awareness of a foreign language is also an asset when applying for apprenticeships. Jobs where this is particularly useful are Cabin Crew, Travel Services, Customer Service and Relations, Events Assistants and Public Services. Useful websites to research careers and wider progression options could include Planit plus, All About Careers and The Apprenticeship Guide.
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