Language College
Summerhill School was first designated a Specialist Language College in 2003. We believe that language learning plays an important part in raising achievement and broadening the opportunities and experiences on offer to our students and the local community. After a successful first Phase and the recent OFSTED inspection, we were re-designated as a Language College for a second phase from Summer 2008.
We aim to equip our students with the skills and knowledge that they will need in order to address their personal needs and become active citizens in the 21st century context. We aim to promote and value language-learning, and to improve inter-cultural knowledge by introducing an international aspect to students’ studies in all curriculum areas. Additionally the recent introduction of the English Baccalaureate has resulted in many universities stating that they will give preference to applicants with a GCSE in a language.
At Summerhill School, students study two languages in Years 7 and 8 from French, German and Spanish, according to their experiences at primary school. At the end of Year 8, students choose a language which most will study to GCSE at the end of Year 10. There are opportunities to study two languages to GCSE with the option of out of hours courses. In Year 11, most students will have a further range of options, including half -GCSE courses in a 2nd language. For some students, it is more appropriate to re-take GCSE at the end of Year 11, and others will support their studies in other subjects.
We have an exchange with a school in the South of France near Biarritz and are developing links with schools in Germany. These offer opportunities for authentic linguistic and cultural experiences. We also have links to Nigeria, Zambia, Poland and Japan.
There are opportunities for out of hours language-learning activities. These include a GCSE 2nd language and the Twilight Japanese club.
Summerhill also has an international theme to enrichment days where students explore the meaning of, and their role in, global citizenship. Recent days have had themes based around international organisations, India, refugees, Holland and Japan and the importance of language skills in the workplace.
There are regular trips, for example to Spain and the German Christmas markets as well as other international opportunities for our students to enjoy.
