Outline of the Curriculum – Collège
6e, 5e, 4e
The scheme of work for the Collège has been designed to cover the three years of Anglophone Section collège education from the Sixième to the Quatrième. It aims to revise and cement the literacy skills learnt in the Anglophone Primary Section, and to develop and prepare the new skills required for success in examinations; at GCSE level, in the Troisième and Seconde, and at OIB level, in the Terminale year. It is also focused around building a standardised approach to the delivery of the curriculum in the Collège, ensuring that all students reach the Troisième with similar experiences and skills.
The ideals and objectives of the UK’s National Literacy Strategy (NLS) have been consulted in devising a suitable curriculum for an international school. This strategy provides a framework of skills to be taught including Word Level Work, Sentence Level Work, Reading Skills, Writing Skills and Speaking and Listening Skills.
The long term view provides a snapshot of the curriculum in Collège, breaking down each of the three years into units of study, in half termly blocks. These units provide a variety of approaches, exploring various types of reading, writing, speaking and listening. They will usually be taught in the order they appear.
Each student will be given a ‘file’ in the Section filing cabinet, in which their major pieces of course work will be stored. Usually one piece of work will emerge naturally from the scheme of work each half term. Once marked, it will be placed in the file, as evidence of their progress. Students will review their progress on a half termly basis, using the work in their file. This will encourage an awareness of their individual progress over the year, and allow students to set targets for future pieces of work.
Homework will be set on a regular basis, usually consisting of between 30 to 60 minutes of study per week. Tasks set will underpin the skills being taught in class, and could involve research, reading tasks, drafting, preparation for the next lesson and so on. The department encourages students to make use of the Internet and ICT where appropriate within their homework tasks.
English examinations will take place in the Winter term for all Collège students, to allow teachers to review student progress, and for students to become increasingly familiar with examination techniques, in preparation for the Brevet, and GCSE exams.
Progress will be reported to parents using the half termly moyenne, the bulletin, and the Anglophone reports in February and June.
The Literature course offers students the study of pre and post 1914 poetry, prose and drama. They will learn to respond to texts critically, sensitively, in detail and to develop an awareness of their social, historical and cultural contexts.
The study of Language aims to improve the fluency and accuracy of students’ written and spoken expression. They will read a variety of texts learning to distinguish between fact and opinion; to follow an argument; to select material appropriate to purpose and to appreciate writers’ use of language. They will also develop their ability in speaking and listening in order to communicate clearly for different purposes and to different audiences.
Students follow a two-year course, which begins in Troisième and is concluded in Seconde. It is designed in accordance with the current EDEXCEL syllabus. A full copy of this syllabus can be found on the EDEXCEL website .
3e
In the first year of study students will mainly cover the Literature Coursework element, which accounts for 30% of the final grade. This consists of the study of English Literature written before 1914.
Unit 1 – Pre 1914 Drama – Based around the study of a play by Shakespeare, this unit will require students to examine aspects of language, structure, form and meaning.
Unit 2 – Pre 1914 Prose – Involving the study of one entire text, or a comparison of short stories. Students will be asked to study aspects of the text(s), and the social, historical and cultural contexts. Unit 3 – Pre 1914 Poetry – This unit will involve the study of a substantial collection of poetry. It will include the study of meaning, language, structure and form. Social, historical and cultural context will also be studied.
Classwork/Homework - Although the Troisième year is largely based around the study of literature, there will be occasions where classwork and homework are based around the study of language. This aims to ensure a balanced curriculum, and to prepare students for the GCSE in English Language that they will face in the Seconde. Further, although the study of literature written prior to 1914 will take priority, it should be noted that students will study a wide range of other writing. Media, Non-fiction, Poetry, Short Stories, Novels and Drama will be used to enhance and develop students’ understanding of English Language and Literature.