The English Martyrs School is a large mixed comprehensive in Hartlepool in Northumberland, an area of the country where traditionally there has been widespread reluctance to learning languages. Now, not only are growing numbers of students here opting to take a language, but GCSE results in French and German are getting better each year. Four years ago, in response to poor results, the MFL department overhauled the way languages were taught by introducing a range of strategies, including a ten-minute speaking focus in every lesson and an imaginative use of ICT. This programme explores the ways students are being helped to improve their results in all four areas of the course - reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Video Series: Improving GCSE Results
Release Date 2008