EAL

EAL stands for English as an Additional Language.  All students whose first language is not English are enrolled on the EAL programme for English lessons to develop their general English language skills and to help them with English for their subjects.

When students first arrive at Sidcot, they are tested to find out their level and the amount of teaching they need.  All students have at least one individual lesson with an EAL teacher once a week.  This lesson is 50 minutes long.  Some students may need more than one individual lesson per week.  The teacher will design an individual programme of work according to the specific language learning needs of each student.

Years 7 – 9

Students in Years 7 – 9 usually arrive with relatively weak English and will have at least two or sometimes three individual lessons per week.

Years 10 – 11

In Years 10 and 11, students whose first language is not English take IGCSE English as a Second Language as one of their GCSE options.  This course is taught as a group lesson three times per week.  In addition, students have one individual lesson per week to support this course as well as their other GCSE courses.

Years 12 – 13

Students taking A levels in the Sixth Form have group lessons working towards the IELTS exam, which is an entry requirement for UK universities.  Individual lessons complement these group lessons.  Students continue with their individual lessons until they have achieved an IELTS score that allows them to enter the university of their choice.  This is typically 6.5 – 7.0.

EFL Exams

In addition to the exams taken in Years 11 and 12, overseas students can also work towards internationally recognised English exams during their individual classes.  We use the Cambridge ESOL exams:

Cambridge PET (Preliminary English Test)
Cambridge FCE (First Certificate in English)
Cambridge CAE (Certificate in Advanced English)

Students have also been given support when working towards other external exams such as TOEFL and American SATS.