St. Colmans College - Violet Hill Newry

31 August 2010
First Impressions

19 August 2010
Top Notch Results for Top School

30 June 2010
All Ireland Sporting Heroes Celebrated

Please select a button below for more details on your choosen department.

Head of Department
Overview of the Department
Key Stage 3
GCSE
A Level
Links
Extra Curricular

Mr. T Toner

Spanish is taught to pupils in Years 9-14. The department's aims are for the pupils to enjoy learning Spanish and to be proud of their linguistic ability.

They are encouraged to build on their learning and experiment with the language, whilst working to their full potential in class work and in examinations.

Pupils are positively praised and should feel confident to express themselves in a supportive atmosphere.

Summary of Key Stage 3 Curriculum: All pupils in Years 9 and 10 have four lessons of Spanish per week. The course followed is Listos!, Book One.

The course has unit tests which pupils sit four times per term. Examination Structure: Pupils have tests twice a term to assess progress.

These test pupils' progress in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. At the end of Year 10 pupils sit a mini-GCSE, which determines their ability to opt for Spanish in Years 11 and 12. Practical work:

Pupils are set homework (written/learning) three to four times per week, which in total takes approximately two hours to complete.

Summary of GCSE Curriculum: AQA is the examination board used for GCSE.

All pupils in Years 11 and 12 have five lessons of Spanish per week. It is expected that the pupils studying Spanish at GCSE will achieve a Grade C or above. We are aiming to increase the number of pupils gaining an A or A* Grade.

Examination Structure:

The GCSE examination in Spanish is divided into four Parts: Reading comprehension, (25%), speaking, (25%), listening, (25%) and coursework, (25%). The vast majority of pupils sit the higher-level exam. Practical / Coursework: Homework is done 3 /4 times per week and takes approximately 3 hours in total.

Emphasis is placed on written and grammatical accuracy, vocabulary building and communication and listening skills. Coursework is carried out in Year 12.

Summary of A level Curriculum: EDEXCEL is the Examination Board used for AS/A2 Level. AS pupils have eight periods and A2 pupils have nine periods of Spanish per week. The Spanish assistant has conversation classes with pupils twice per week.

Examination Structure: Pupils do three modules at AS Level and a further three modules at A2 level. Modules 1-3 are worth 50% and Modules 4-6 are worth 50% of an A level.

The modules test the four skill areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Practical / Coursework:

Coursework is worth 15% of overall marks and consists of two pieces of written Spanish of approximately 1400-1500 words in total. Homework is set every day and pupils do individual study and research at home and in library.