French – Head of French: Mr J D Davies

French is the longest established language in the school, having continuously been part of the curriculum since the nineteen twenties. In a department fortunate to have a committed, enthusiastic and very well-qualified staff, it continues to be a popular choice and at present all pupils begin their study in year eight with a substantial proportion opting at the end of year nine to continue the subject up to GCSE.

As an increasing number of students see the advantage of being able to offer a modern foreign language as part of their ‘A’ levels, so the subject has recently seen a resurgence of popularity in the sixth form.

Results at both GCSE and A level continue to be very satisfactory.

At our school France has for many years been by far the most frequent destination for overseas school visits and since 1982 nearly every boy at TBGS has been on at least one of the visits organised by the French Department, either to Normandy for the younger pupils, or on one of the Exchanges. Our present Exchange, organised jointly with Torquay Girls’ Grammar School, is with the Lycée Jules Verne in Nantes and in October 2006 a party of 33 pupils enjoyed a successful stay with their pen-friends.

A link to the Lycee web site: http://lyc-verne-44.ac-nantes.fr/lycee/

A recent visit from a French Theatre Company proved to be great entertainment for boys in years 8 & 9 together with a large number of TGGS & Paignton.  Vive La Comédie!