IB Prospectus 2027 - Flipbook - Page 17
MEET OUR STUDENTS
IRIS DURY
STUDIED:
French, English Literature, Visual Arts (HL)
Maths, ESS, History (SL)
PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Blatchington Mill School
WHAT NEXT?
French & Beginners' Italian University of Oxford
I enjoyed all my subjects at GCSE level and
didn’t want to narrow down so early, so upon
going to an IB talk I was immediately excited by
the breadth of study that was possible with the IB.
The global approach of the IB also interested me
as someone who would like to live abroad
in the future because I knew that an
internationally recognised quali昀椀cation
would be very useful.
“
I now have an o昀昀er to study French
& Italian at Oxford University and the
IB has given me the con昀椀dence to
take on this more challenging course.
I’m excited to apply skills that I have
developed during my time at Varndean,
such as the ability to work
independently and think
critically.
Studying on the IB has
really encouraged my
passion for languages,
as the content centres
around cultural
understanding and
human connection."
Interested in French?
Through French, learners will engage with diverse cultures from France, Africa,
Canada, the Caribbean, and beyond. Topics such as identity, social relationships,
culture, and global issues will encourage students to think critically and
empathetically about the world around them. You will also study a wide range of
昀椀lms and books. Learners have previously studied: L’étranger, Bonjour tristesse,
No et moi, Huis clos, Le gone du chaâba, La haine and Welcome which explore
the wider and global themes of Identities, Immigration, racism and Francophone
culture. You will work with authentic materials aimed at French speakers and will
explore a huge variety of texts (articles, blogs, literary ones, interviews to name a
few) and audio as well as video materials that will ensure you get a very current
view of what is going on in the French speaking world, culturally and politically.
French Ab initio (available at SL only)
The language ab initio course is a language acquisition course for students with
no prior experience of the target language, or for those students with very limited
previous experience. Studying French at a beginner's level provides students with an
exciting opportunity to acquire new language skills, as well as develop an appreciation
of the cultural di昀昀erence of French-speaking communities and function successfully
in a French-speaking environment, helping students improve their opportunities for
employment, travel and entertainment. The language ab initio syllabus is organised
into the same 昀椀ve themes as the SL and HL courses and students are exposed to a
variety of authentic text types in relation to the prescribed themes and topics, as well
as the content contained within the language-speci昀椀c syllabuses.
Students are assessed both externally and internally:
• External assessment consists of Paper 1: productive skills—writing (25%)
and Paper 2: receptive skills (50%)—with separate sections for listening
and reading
• Internal assessment consists of an individual oral assessment—
productive and interactive skills (25%).
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