Kim Davenport
Welcome to the only foreign language department at Chesterhouse. French is offered from Grade 5 in our Junior School to AS Level (Grade 12) in the College. Kim Davenport (Head of French) and Mike de Freitas teach High School French and Marisa Esterhuizen teaches French in the Junior School.
We are proud to tell you that the French department at Chesterhouse is the first department to send pupils on international tours; these are linguistic, cultural tours to Paris and Antibes in the south of France. We also offer a cultural and language exchange to our pupils where they are given the opportunity to stay in a French home in Blois becoming more proficient in their speaking and listening skills, as well as learning first hand more about the French culture.
French is compulsory from Grades 5 to 7, after which pupils must choose between French and Afrikaans as a second language from Grade 8 onwards.
We look forward to teaching your child
The Cambridge Foreign Language French course is designed to teach children to communicate on all levels. This allows teachers much leeway in terms of designing interactive, stimulating, yet academically demanding lessons, combining listening and speaking with reading and writing. Culture forms an integral element of the syllabus, which is another tool for creating fun and colourful time in class. Much use is made of CD’s, DVD’s, the internet, conversation and role play activities.
At IGCSE level, pupils sit four exams, comprising a Listening Paper, a Reading and Writing Paper, an Oral exam and an Extended Writing (essay) Paper. This comprehensive set of exams prepares candidates to communicate effectively at an introductory level in French, and to cope with the demands of the challenging AS Level course which follows.
At AS Level the difficulty in language and content increases dramatically, as pupils learn to debate and discuss in written and spoken French on topical issues and current affairs. The listening exam falls away at AS Level. Successful candidates will have a solid grounding in French, giving them the confidence to enter a French environment, be it social or commercial, and communicate at an intermediate level. This is an excellent foundation and the committed pupil will be well on his or her way to the long-term goal of attaining fluency.
Marisa Esterhuizen
