FRENCH

“Westminster Tutors is a sixth form college in London providing one-to-one tuition for A level students”

French A Level & AS Level Courses

French is the most popular modern language at Westminster Tutors and indeed our proximity to the Institut français in London makes it an excellent place to study. Students continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of the French language, broadening their vocabulary range, grammatical competence and oral fluency, and also explore the rich culture of France and other francophone countries.

Course outline

Aspects of French-speaking society: current trends

The changing nature of family (La famille en voie de changement)
The ‘cyber-society’ (La « cyber-société »)
The place of voluntary work (Le rôle du bénévolat)

Aspects of French-speaking society: current issues

Positive features of a diverse society (Les aspects positifs d’une société diverse)
Life for the marginalised (Quelle vie pour les marginalisés ? )
How criminals are treated (Comment on traite les criminels)

Artistic culture in the French-speaking world

A culture proud of its heritage (Une culture fière de son patrimoine)
Contemporary francophone music (La musique francophone contemporaine)
Cinema: the 7th art form (Cinéma : le septième art)

Aspects of political life in the French-speaking world

Teenagers, the right to vote and political commitment (Les ados, le droit de vote et l’engagement politique)
Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power? (manifestations, grèves – à qui le pouvoir ? )
Politics and immigration (La politique et l’immigration)

Assesment

AS Level French

Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing

Assessment of grammar and content themes 1 and 3
90 marks
1 hour 45 minutes written paper
45% of total AS level

Paper 2: Writing

Assessment of grammar and one text or one film
50 marks
1 hour 30 minutes written paper
25% of total AS level

Speaking

Assessment of one sub-theme from theme 1 and one sub-theme from theme 3
60 marks
Oral exam between 12 and 14 minutes
Internally conducted and externally assessed
30% of total AS level

A Level French

Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing

Assessment of grammar and content across all four themes
100 marks
2 hours 30 minutes written paper
50% of total A level

Paper 2: Writing

Assessment of grammar and two texts or one text and one film
80 marks
2 hours written paper
20% of total A level

Speaking

Individual research project on one of the four themes
60 marks
Oral exam between 21 and 23 minutes
Internally conducted and externally assessed
30% of total A level

Set Texts

Texts

Molière, Le Tartuffe
Voltaire, Candide
Guy de Maupassant, Boule de Suif et autres contes de guerre
Albert Camus, L’étranger
Françoise Sagan, Bonjour tristesse
Claire Etcherelli, Elise ou la vraie vie
Joseph Joffo, Un sac de billes
Faïza Guène, Kiffe kiffe demain
Philippe Grimbert, Un secret
Delphine de Vigan, No et moi

Films

Les 400 Coups, François Truffaut (1959)
Au revoir les enfants, Louis Malle (1987)
La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz (1995)
L’auberge espagnole, Cédric Klapisch (2002)
Un long dimanche de fiançailles, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2004)
Entre les murs, Laurent Cantet (2008)

Specification

Teachers will choose the examination board for students joining in Year 12 based on their expertise and specialist knowledge. For Year 13 and retake students, teachers will continue students’ studies with AQA, Edexcel/Pearson, OCR or WJEC/Eduqas. Please note that we do not offer CIE but can more than map to one of the boards listed.

Teachers

Jessica Imberger
MA (Queen Mary), LLB (Toulouse), PGCE (UCL)

News

Exceptional University Destinations 2024

Aug 22, 2024

Our students are going on to do remarkable things! Each year the vast majority of our A level leavers take up places at the top universities and our 2024 students have really topped the bill. The combination of fantastic A level results and the best UCAS...

Stupendous 2024 A Level Results at Westminster Tutors

Aug 15, 2024

We are thrilled to announce the remarkable achievements of our students in the interim 2024 A level results at Westminster Tutors Independent Sixth Form College. Our students’ dedication and hard work have truly set them apart, and we could not be prouder of...

Three into Cambridge University!!

Aug 24, 2022

Three cheers for three of our students who are starting at Cambridge University in a month’s time, we are massively proud of them and their considerable talents. We are also rather proud of ourselves as each of them obtained A*A*A* in their A levels and we...

French Film at the Ciné Lumière

Mar 11, 2022

French A Level students are invited to attend a film screening at the Ciné Lumière at the Institut Français on Thursday 24th March. The film is a comedy called La famille Bélier about music and social class in France. It is part of the Set French Days...

Why Choose Westminster Tutors?

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A level grades 43% A*-A and 80% A*-B
Superbly qualified teachers who care
77% of leavers to Russell Group unis
Exceptional UCAS support
Individual weekly mentoring
100% of our parents recommend us
Celebrating 90 years of academic excellence

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About Us

Westminster Tutors is one of the oldest and best independent sixth form colleges in London. Established in 1934, our culture of scholastic excellence is deeply embedded and sets the standard for other colleges to follow.