Spanish

Subject leader

Eva Marcos:
eva.marcos@swale.at

Curriculum Intent

At The Turing School, the Spanish curriculum is designed to provide students with the cultural capital and skills needed to succeed in today’s interconnected world. Through Spanish, students develop communication skills, deepen their appreciation of other cultures and challenge the idea that “everyone speaks English”.

Learning a language breaks down barriers and broadens horizons, opening up personal and professional opportunities. The curriculum fosters curiosity about the world and enables pupils to express their thoughts in another language through practical communication and cultural exploration. It equips students with knowledge and skills for an increasingly globalised society.

Curriculum implementation 

Across Key Stage 3, pupils build secure foundations in phonics, vocabulary and grammar. Knowledge is carefully sequenced, revisited and applied in increasingly complex contexts to support long-term retention and prepare pupils for Key Stage 4.

Teaching uses Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI), Sentence Builders and the MARS EARS sequencing cycle. 

New language is modelled and practised through listening and reading before pupils move towards structured speaking and writing, explicit grammar teaching, independent production and spontaneous use.

New language is presented through Sentence Builders containing:

• High-frequency vocabulary
• Core grammatical structures
• Clearly chunked, modelled language

Sentence Builders allow pupils to:

• See how words combine to create meaning
• Recognise patterns in grammar and word order
• Access accurate language without cognitive overload

Learning journey

KS3

Pupils have four hours of Spanish a fortnight. They develop confidence in understanding and producing Spanish, using familiar language in new contexts and learning about the diversity of Spanish-speaking communities.

Year 7

Pupils learn to introduce themselves, talk about their family and interests, describe their home and town, discuss school subjects, free-time activities and food, and express simple opinions with reasons. They practise pronunciation and reading aloud, use the present tense, adjectives and connectives, and begin to recognise grammatical patterns such as masculine and feminine nouns.

Cultural learning includes Spanish-speaking countries, Christmas traditions,Easter celebrations. Pupils also explore language diversity through European Day of Languages activities.

In terms 3&4 students will learn to use the present tense to describe the town where they live and what they like doing in their free time. Students will also learn how to give directions and ask for directions and tell the time.

Students will also look at how the Carnival festival is celebrated in the Canary Islands.

In terms 5&6 students will learn to describe their house and use reflexive verbs to talk about their daily routine.

We will be looking at how Easter is celebrated in the Hispanic world and compare routines in Spain and the UK such as mealtimes.

Year 8

Pupils compare people and places, describe routines at home, discuss weather, clothes and hobbies, and make plans for weekends and holidays. They develop the use of present and future tenses, comparisons, time phrases and more extended opinions. 

Cultural learning includes Spanish and Hispanic homes and regions, traditional clothing, the Feria de Abril, holiday destinations, food and customs in the Spanish speaking world.

Year 9

Pupils broaden their ability to discuss holidays, school life, jobs and careers, what they did in the past, and plans for the future. They learn to use present, past and future tenses more confidently, encounter conditional forms and idiomatic language, and develop more complex spoken and written responses.

Cultural learning includes Spanish schools, job adverts and applications, and traditional festivals (Semana Santa, La Tomatina, San Fermín)

KS4 - GCSE Spanish

Pupils who opt for GCSE build on their Key Stage 3 knowledge and develop more complex language and grammar across listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course follows the AQA GCSE Spanish specification and students have six hours of Spanish per fortnight.

The GCSE curriculum develops students’ ability to communicate across three broad themes:

• People and lifestyle: identity and relationships, healthy living, education and work.
• Popular culture: free-time activities, customs, festivals and celebrations, and celebrity culture.
• Communication and the world around us: travel and tourism, media and technology, the environment and where people live.

Year 10

Family and relationships

Describe family life, relationships and future plans; develop grammatical accuracy and give and justify opinions.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

Healthy living

Discuss diet, fitness, wellbeing, healthy and unhealthy habits, and future intentions.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

Education and work

Discuss school life, subjects, teachers, facilities, future study, jobs, careers and aspirations.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

Free-time activities

Discuss sport, music, television, cinema, reading, food and eating out using a range of tenses.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

Customs, festivals and celebrations

Describe celebrations and traditions in Spanish-speaking countries and compare them with experiences in the UK.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

Celebrity culture

Discuss celebrities, role models, influencers and events involving famous people; develop comparisons and opinions.

Listening, reading and writing mock assessments.

Year 11

Media and technology

Discuss online life, social media, technology, online safety and their influence.

End-of-unit listening, reading and writing assessment.

The environment and where people live

Describe home, local area and region; discuss environmental and social issues, solutions and ethical questions.

Mock examinations across listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Travel and tourism

Discuss holidays in the past and present, activities, weather, destinations and making reservations; express and justify preferences.

Mock examinations across listening, reading, speaking and writing.

Revision and exam preparation

Retrieve and strengthen vocabulary and grammar and practise the skills and question types required across all four GCSE papers.

Targeted practice and examination preparation.

GCSE Assessment

GCSE Spanish assesses four skills, each worth 25% of the final grade:

Paper 1 Listening

Understanding spoken Spanish, including questions in English and dictation.

Paper 2  Speaking

Role-play, reading aloud and conversation, including a photo-card discussion.

Paper 3  Reading

Understanding written Spanish and translating from Spanish into English.

Paper 4  Writing

Writing for different purposes, responding to prompts, applying grammar and translating from English into Spanish.

Homework

Pupils are set one piece of Spanish homework each week at both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.

Key Stage 3: all homework is completed using the platform www.sentencebuilders.com

Key Stage 4: GCSE-style exam questions, high-frequency vocabulary, grammar, idiomatic expressions and online practice using resources such as Seneca Learning and The language Gym

Cultural Capital & Enrichment Opportunities

We are passionate about providing our students with opportunities to develop their cultural capital through meaningful experiences beyond the classroom. Our trips to Spain, including visits to Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Granada, allow students to immerse themselves in Spanish culture, history and daily life. These experiences bring the language to life, giving students authentic opportunities to practise their Spanish, explore significant cultural landmarks, sample local cuisine and develop a deeper understanding of the diversity of Spanish-speaking communities. By experiencing the language in real-life contexts, students build confidence, broaden their horizons and develop a greater appreciation of the world around them.

We also welcome Spanish students to our school each year, providing an invaluable opportunity for cultural exchange and genuine communication. Meeting and spending time with young people from another country encourages our students to use their Spanish naturally, develop their confidence and discover shared interests across cultures. These visits help foster meaningful connections and lifelong friendships with international students, while promoting open-mindedness, mutual respect and a sense of global citizenship. Together, our trips and exchange opportunities enrich students’ learning, create lasting memories and demonstrate the real value of learning a foreign language.

Additional websites and resources

Useful websites:

www.languagesonline.org.uk Grammar and vocabulary practice.

www.duolingo.com Additional vocabulary practice.

www.videoele.com Videos and interactive activities at a range of levels.

www.rockalingua.com Songs and beginner activities, particularly useful in Yrs 7–8.

Seneca Learning  and TeachVid GCSE vocabulary, grammar and exam practice, where assigned by the teacher.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/secondary KS3 and KS4 Grammar and vocabulary practice including videos and listening practice

Revision guides

KS3: CGP KS3 Spanish Complete Revision & Practice with Free Online Audio.

KS4: CGP GCSE Spanish AQA Complete Revision & Practice with CGP RevisionHub (for exams in 2026 and beyond)