A webinar with Julien Violette and Mathilde Bouquin: Getting KS4 French/Spanish students ready for the GCSE Part 2

ALL London organises webinars for the MFL community and this webinar, held in a Zoom room and also viewable on an unlisted YouTube stream, is open to all MFL teachers. We hope that you will like us and want to join!

We also thank the presenters, who give freely of their time and expertise. Where possible, most sessions are recorded and available for viewing later.

SESSION INFORMATION

We are very grateful to leaders in the Harris Federation who are willing to share their expertise with the wider community.   Their session in November 2025 was extremely well received and is available for viewing here.

Teachers currently teaching Year 11 in particular will be keen to pick up ideas as they prepare for the first exam of a new specification. The references will be drawn from Edexcel French and Spanish but the principles can be applied to both exam boards in French, Spanish and German.

Here are details of the session which will be delivered by Mathilde Bouquin and Julien Violette, languages consultants at Harris federation.

This session will focus on sharing new teaching and exam strategies to support students' success in the final stretch before the new GCSE examinations. It will also provide opportunities to revisit teaching strategies from our first online webinar and reflect on progress of Y11 students.

Teachers will consolidate what we have learnt for the past 2 years teaching the new GCSE course and preparing the new GCSE examinations.

We will revisit previous strategies and learn new ones to prepare KS4 students for their exams. This will include practical ideas on a variety of exam questions across the Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.

Current French/Spanish/German teachers of Key Stage 4 and 3 [note that all examples will either be in French or Spanish.]

In the session, we will be using material and samples from Pearson Edexcel, however all strategies and suggestions can be adapted to the AQA specifications.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Mathilde Bouquin – Deputy Lead Languages Consultant (French, Spanish & German) ‘I am currently the Deputy Lead for Languages for the Harris Federation. I have taught languages since 2011. Prior to completing my PGCE at King’s College, I completed an MA in French and foreign languages teaching at the University La Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. I have taught French and Spanish at secondary level across all Key Stages and German at KS3. I have worked in London schools as Head of Year, Lead Practitioner and Head of department. In my current role, I am involved in the training and development of new languages teachers working with the National Institute of Teaching. I am also in charge of developing the KS4 French provision. I am committed to exploring inclusive strategies that empower all learners to become confident linguists, with a particular focus on supporting groups who tend to underperform nationally in languages, such as boys and learners with SEND.'

Julien Violette – Lead Languages Consultant (French, Spanish with German) ‘I currently lead the languages consultant team at Harris. I have been teaching languages since 2010, after completing my PGCE at Goldsmiths, University of London. I have worked in multiple comprehensive schools across London and I have led 2 languages departments previously. I have taught French and Spanish at all key stages and German at KS3. In my role, I oversee our subject network and allocate our support to academies based on priorities and needs. I am also in charge of curriculum and assessments, resource development and I am behind our KS4 Spanish provision. I am passionate about promoting language learning and always keen to see new, exciting initiatives and experiences for our students. I run the Future Linguist Club for Harris students of Year 8 to Year 13. I have also co-authored Secondary Languages Into Action with my colleague David Shanks and esteemed languages teachers Natascia Servini and Luma Hameed.'

Online platform

We use a Zoom platform.

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Notes

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• Please download the latest version of the Zoom client for the best experience: https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting

Intellectual Property and Use of Content
This webinar is offered free of charge to support the work of our association. The presentations and spoken content are the intellectual property of the host and invited speakers. By registering, you agree not to record, transcribe, or use AI tools to capture or summarise the session. Anything the presenters choose to share will be made available afterwards on our website.

We look forward to seeing you!