French is taught from the Spring term of Little Dragons Orange all the way through to Form VI. For our younger pupils, language lessons involve lots of songs, rhymes and games. As the children get older, they learn to develop their learning into sentences and eventually to be able to read short passages in French. Role plays, games and fun are essential parts of the learning throughout the school. From Form III, pupils start to learn Spanish as well.

Initial language learning focusses on the basics, for example, colours, numbers, days of the week, family members, animals and simple sentences about themselves. As the children get older, they are taught specific topics to help them get by in France or Spain, for example, food, hobbies, weather, countries, nationalities, music, directions and ailments. 

Our pupils leave St George’s confident in languages and more than ready to take on the challenges of secondary language learning.

For pupils in Form V, we are delighted to offer the opportunity to learn Mandarin. Lessons follow the highly regarded Dragons Connect platform, where children are taught new vocabulary and how to write Mandarin characters, along with a focus on various aspects of Chinese culture.

Pupils use their iPads to complete online exercises that consolidate their learning which gives them instant feedback, followed by a series of fun, educational games that reiterate previous learning and earn ‘Fu points’. The children become extremely competitive and really enjoy their lessons.

Every pupil has the option to take the Independent Schools Examination Board Level 1 (spring) and 2 (summer) examinations in Mandarin.