KS3 Curriculum 

All pupils at Forge Valley study Spanish at Key Stage 3. Pupils study the language through a range of topic areas including family, hobbies, school and modern technology. Pupils’ vocabulary and grammatical understanding is developed through a cyclical curriculum, which sees key structures and languages regularly revisiting and further developed. We also aim to give our pupils an understanding of the Hispanic world by introducing them to the traditions, festivals, food and lifestyle in Spain and Latin America. We do this through cultural starter activities and use of authentic texts and materials. 

We offer extra-curricular visits abroad, to broaden horizons and to allow our pupils to practise their language skills in real life contexts as well as enabling them to experience Spanish culture. In recent years we have visited Valencia and Barcelona. 

Mastery Learning 

All pupils learn the key vocabulary for the topic they are studying on a weekly basis. Pupils are emailed a link every week by their class teacher and complete learning activities on the Booklet website to practise this vocabulary. The purpose of this is to allow pupils the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge at home and better prepare them for learning in the classroom. 

All pupils have a baseline quiz at the start and end of each unit of work based on this vocabulary. We wish to emphasise that this is a low-stakes quiz and not an assessment. This is used to demonstrate to pupils the progress they have made and may be used as a diagnostic tool to inform teachers of any knowledge gaps, which may need to be addressed. 

Spanish is a very popular subject at Key Stage 4 with students building on the skills they developed at Key Stage 3. We follow the AQA course which covers three main themes: 

• Theme 1: Identity and culture 

• Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest 

• Theme 3: Current and future study and employment. 

The three main topic areas are studied in greater depth than at Key Stage 3, with the key focus being to develop skills in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. As well as having access to a range of materials and resources, time is built into the course to work in small groups with our Foreign Language Assistants, both during lesson time and in after school additional support sessions. 

The course is assessed through final examinations at the end of Year. Students have 4 separate exams in Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, with each paper worth 25% of the final grade. 

We offer an Exchange Programme for our Year 10 students to Plasencia in Eastern Spain which is an excellent opportunity for students to develop their spoken language as well as getting a real insight into Spanish culture.  We have developed a very strong link with our partner school IES Gabriel y Galán. The programme involves a week-long visit to Spain, followed by a return visit from our Spanish partners, with Forge Valley parents also being involved in the English leg of the partnership.  

Mastery Learning 

All pupils learn the key vocabulary for the topic they are studying on a weekly basis. Pupils are emailed a link every week by their class teacher and complete learning activities on the Quizlet website to practise this vocabulary. The purpose of this is to allow pupils the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge at home and better prepare them for learning in the classroom. Pupils have a weekly in-class vocabulary test.