Language College

The school’s designation as a language college has had a significant impact on the curriculum. It has stimulated a more international outlook with students benefiting from visits abroad for sporting, historical and cultural reasons, as well as providing opportunity for learning different languages.    Ofsted 2004

Millthorpe is currently embarking on the second period of specialist school designation as a Language College. Over the past five years foreign language teaching in the school has flourished and we have had a real impact on language teaching across York .

The funding available to the school has enabled us to employ additional language teachers and to equip all the Modern Language classrooms with networked interactive whiteboards. We are leading the way in developing primary school language teaching by delivering French classes in seven of our feeder primary schools. We support the work of all language teachers in the area by providing training and resources for secondary schools across the city. Pupils from all over North Yorkshire have benefited from our Language based careers conferences.

All pupils now study two languages for the first three years and are encouraged to study two languages at GCSE. In addition, some pupils study Italian as a third language from Year 8 onwards and have the opportunity to sit three languages at GCSE level.

Our range of extra curricular language provision is now extensive. We have a very successful exchange programme with a Gymnasium in Germany. We hold annual International days where the timetable is suspended and pupils experience a wide range of activities based on the language and culture of a different country.