French

Applications Open - 10th November 2025

Applications Close - 31st January 2026

Entry Requirements - For entry into year 12 to begin A Level and/or vocational courses, students must meet the minimum requirements in English and Mathematics (grade 4), however most courses require significantly higher grades in certain other GCSE subjects to access them.

How to Apply -

• Internal students – apply via Applicaa (school have emailed all students a link)
• External Students – apply using Applicaa from the Trinity School website under Sixth Form - Apply here

Students are required to study a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 subjects.

Why study the subject?
Learning a language and its culture brings enormous satisfaction and opens many doors. It provides a rich insight into other worlds, embeds an ability to gain a much greater depth of empathy and communication, and develops us as people who build bridges, not walls. All this through the medium of one of the world’s great major languages.
Students study technological and social change, looking at diversity and the benefits it brings. They study highlights of French speaking artistic culture, including francophone music and cinema, and learn about political engagement and who wields political power in the French speaking world. Students also explore the influence of the past on present day French speaking communities. They learn the language in the context of French speaking countries and the issues and influences which have shaped them.

In addition to this, students study Mathieu Kassowitz’s cinematic masterpiece La Haine and Albert Camus’ seminal work L’Etranger. As part of the Speaking exam, students carry out independent research on an area of their choice, which can sit alongside their EPQ and they university application form.

No other subject brings together elements of history, politics, literature, media, sociology, geography, philosophy and linguistics in quite the same way. French is an excellent partner subject to most other Post-16 options.

Skills Acquired
The skills inherent in language acquisition prepare us for an ever-changing world including employment opportunities yet to be invented. Knowledge of a language marks you out as someone who is tenacious, curious, resilient, and openminded with an ability to seek solutions to problems and be highly flexible in their thinking. It is adaptability and the ability to respond rapidly to change which will increase your chances of success and long-term fulfilment.

Students Suited To The Course
Students who have a broad academic spectrum of interest, who are curious about the world, who remain curious and who look for the opportunities to communicate with and understand others thrive on this course. The course suits students who are prepared to address topics of importance, develop and justify points of view and bring together the social, historical and mechanical elements of understanding and creating language along with its ever-shifting cultural context.

What Other Subjects It Combines Well With
Studying French will complement your study of any other subject because of the range of transferable skills and concepts. Business Studies, Sciences, Maths, Drama, English, Social Sciences, History, Geography, as well as Art and Design and other creative subjects make excellent companion subjects with French.

Co-curricular
Theatre visit to Les Misérables in the West End.
School journey to France.

• Paper 1: Listening, Reading and Writing (Topics) 50%
• Paper 2: Writing (Film and Literature) 20%
• Paper 3: Speaking (including discussion and delivering a presentation) 30%

GSCE grade 6 in French.

Whatever you choose to do in the future, you will find that the things you learn in this course will help you to open new opportunities internationally. For example, you could work or study abroad or work in an international company in the UK. French A-Level can lead to further study of the subject at university. Languages are often offered as part of a dual degree e.g. Management and French.