Enrichment Activities

Trips and visits are an integral part of our programme, since cultural awareness is one of the requirements in the National Curriculum.

Year 7 all travel to France for a three day residential within five weeks of joining the School, it encourages the use of French and fosters friendships and team building skills.

Year 7 also made a day trip to Azincourt and Montreuil in the summer term, this trip is also cross-curricular with History. A new trip is being devised for Year 7 in the summer of 2010.

Year 8 attend the 'World Languages Day' at the University of Kent in July each year.

Years 9 - 13 are able to participate in a residential visit to Santander in Spain for six days. We have a close link with an International School and students will learn Spanish each morning in school and experience the real Spain each afternoon/evening.

Year 10 are hoping to visit Rue, France in March 2010 for a five night/six day residential. Plans are progressing well.

Following a very successful trip in 2009 the new Year 12/13 students are to be given the opportunity to visit Paris for five days in March 2010. Other language trips that have taken place include - a day trip to Paris for Year 8 and 9, GCSE German students to the German Christmas Market in Birmingham, Year 12/13 to Rome to submerge themselves in Italian culture...

Focus Days have enabled Languages to deliver a whole day of cultural understanding to each year group in rotation. Examples include Year 7 - looking at Winter Festivals across the world, Year 10 - Language games for learning and Year 12 - interactive orals. The Focus Day in September (close to European Day of Languages) allows all Faculties across the School to include an MFL input into the activities they have planned - Year 7 Maths in French/Spanish/Semaphore, Year 8 Olympics, Year 11 Cultural Awareness and Year 12 Revolutions are examples of this.

Students in Year 7 and 8 now all have an e-pal in either France or Spain and more and more International Links are being developed across the School. For example - Year 9 Mathematics students communicate with a school in Germany over a data collection project, Year 10 Science links with a school in Holland, Year 12 Environmental Scientists have a well established link with Sweden and students from Umeå visited us in September 2009. We have just received funding from the British Council to get two teachers out to our partner school in Ethiopia and the funding will allow for their headteacher to make the return visit too. Whole School fundraising activities have meant over £3000 worth of resources have been able to be provided for the Ethiopian school.

'Languages on Film' is a project that Year 10 students participated in during the summer term 2009. The project involved Barton Court students, along with Canterbury High School and Canterbury Christchurch University College in the devising and producing an original piece of film - to promote language learning. The World Premiere was at CCCU on the evening of the 2nd February.

Being in a language college means that Languages are everywhere - from a wide range of extra-curricular/booster clubs to multi-lingual signs around the school and international time zones in Reception.