Fast Track at The Hurst Community College

The modern languages teachers at the Hurst Community College offer their pupils the opportunity to take GCSE in a language at the end of year 9. This is part of a highly  successful strategy to offer all pupils a choice of integrated approaches to learning languages which will engage and stretch them, with a concentration on high standards and achievement, particularly in the Fast Track classes, where the pupils rapidly become more and more confident that learning languages is something at which they can be successful. The approach also provides an opportunity for pupils to learn a second foreign language at Key Stage 4, taking a GCSE in year 11. .

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As a result, the teachers have noted a marked  improvement in motivation; a rise in standards in modern languages throughout the school; increased participation in languages post 14; and a significant improvement in the status of modern languages in the school.

All pupils start either French or German when they come to the school in Year 7. From Year 8 they are given a choice of:

• A Fast Track programme in the language they started in Year 7, leading to GCSE examinations in the summer of Year 9 (this currently tends to be 2 groups: top set French and top set German).  They have 3 lessons per week, supplemented by an extra 2 lessons before or after school each week.

Pupils who opt for the Fast Track GCSE route are encouraged to take up a second foreign language (French or German or Spanish) in Years 10 and 11.

OR

• a further 2 year programme in the language they started in Year 7, leading to accreditation via ASSET Languages at the end of Year 9 (this currently tends to be largely middle/lower ability pupils many of whom would not otherwise opt for languages post 14). The advantage of this approach is that they do acquire a qualification by the end of year 9, even if they give up languages at this point.

OR

• 4 more years of the conventional  5 year course to GCSE in the language they started in Year 7 (this currently tends to be pupils of average ability who do not feel Fast Track is right for them).

The numbers of pupils opting for Fast Track have grown year on year since the project started in 2006, and the results at GCSE have shown a significant improvement.  Pupils like the approach and aspire to be in the Fast Track classes.

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The teachers believe they are offering their pupils the chance to become ‘real linguists’, and the evidence from our discussions with 2 groups of Year 11 pupils would suggest that they have developed a real love of languages, the confidence that they can learn others, and a wish to do so.  The pupils were very clear that they have developed more independence in the way they learn  which has had a beneficial effect in their other subjects. They valued the opportunity to do a GCSE in Year 9, and found that coping with the responsibility and deadlines of doing coursework, was a very useful preparation for their GCSE work in other subjects later on.  They enjoyed that the sharply focused approach which has helped them to concentrate on the essentials and to develop useful study skills.

They also spoke highly of their language teachers, and of the opportunities which they said their language learning experiences had given them, whichever of the routes they had chosen. They were proud, too, of their own achievements.  They felt they had been given a ‘can do’ outlook, and were confident they would be able to learn any language now; several of them were looking forward to being able to do so at the Sixth Form College, and/or in their future careers.

One of the key features of the Fast Track approach is the way in which pupils are challenged and extended.    In the Fast Track approach the teaching has to be clear and focused, and the learners have to work hard. From what we observed, The Hurst pupils work hard with a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction. This project has proved that for many pupils a GCSE course can be completed successfully in nearly half the time, without sacrificing the joy and satisfaction of learning languages, nor other benefits, such as the development of cultural awareness and understanding.  We saw, too, that there was time in lessons for a variety of imaginative learning activities.

Another key factor, vital to the success of Fast Track, is that the teachers at The Hurst give some of their own time, by teaching two extra sessions per week out of school time.  The school does give them an extra non-teaching period a week by way of recognition, but it says a lot for the teachers’ commitment that they are willing to do this.

Students from the Hurst Community College gave us feedback about the Fast Track route to learning languages:

We have included some quotes below from Year 10 students who successfully completed a GCSE in a language at the end of Year 9. These students have chosen to study a second foreign language for a GCSE at the end of Year 11.

• ‘Fast Track was good because it is a really good system that is fun and a good laugh’ Chloe Tang year 10
• ‘I like it because it teaches you how to approach GCSEs and how to learn’ Ashley Hart Year 10
• ‘It was a fun and rewarding experience’ Katie Hawkins Year 10
• ‘I like the way it gave us an extra opportunity and I learnt a lot. I surprised myself!’ Sarah Sloan Year 10
• ‘It was good and successful as most people did well. Es war toll!’ Sam Busbridge Year 10
• ‘It was worth all the effort for an extra GCSE’ Bradley Bush Year 10