RHS Sixth Form Curriculum 2020-2022

Course outline

AQA

Year 1 and 2 of the course will allow you to extend your knowledge of language by building upon the skills learnt and developed at GCSE, becoming more proficient at listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Many topics are covered, including; youth culture (music, fashion), the family, the effects of technology, festivals and traditions, aspects of multiculturalism in German speaking countries, aspects of the artistic and political culture in the target language countries such as German reunification and its consequences.

An exciting and rewarding part of the course is the study of film and literature, both of which will give you insights into the culture of the language.

By the end of the course you will feel confident about speaking, writing and understanding German. In addition you will have gained an insight into Germany, Switzerland and Austria, their people, language and culture. Taking German at A Level will give you the potential to pursue it at a higher level, possibly with another subject.

Paper 1 Listening, reading and writing (50%). Paper 2 Writing (20%) writing about the film and text studied. Paper 3 Oral (30%) discussion of a topic and an individual research project.

As a linguist, a huge array of career options is open to you. German is the most widely spoken language in Europe with 110 million speakers. German speaking nations are at the forefront of design, environmental and scientific technology. German can be combined with many other subjects at university, allowing students to develop their linguistic and vocational skills simultaneously.

Past students have studied German and Law, German and History, German and Russian. The transferable skills of linguists make them highly sought after across all professions; including banking, business, accounting, the media, travel and tourism. On average, languages graduates earn 8% more than their peers.

We believe that it is essential for students to experience the German language and culture first hand. All students are given the opportunity to take part in the German exchange trip to Münster where they follow a tailor made programme.

There may also be the opportunity to participate in a language visit to Berlin, visiting a language school and experiencing the fascinating city of Berlin.

Students are encouraged to use German in a wide range of contexts. All our audio material is available on the school intranet and websites are used regularly in lessons.

In addition, we have an extensive selection of DVDs, which aid students to widen their experience and understanding of the culture of German speaking countries.

“Taking German at A Level allowed me to broaden my horizons, both culturally and academically. It’s challenging but definitely worth it for the satisfaction when everything falls into place. Having the chance to study German literature has also been a brilliant opportunity. German has been exciting, academically rigorous, but most of all a lot of fun.”