At Sidcot, all international students whose first language is not English are assessed during the admissions process and, where required, enrolled in our EAL (English as an Additional Language) programme to help develop the language skills needed to access the wider curriculum successfully.
Students requiring EAL support usually receive one 50-minute lesson each week with an EAL teacher. The EAL teacher will design an individual programme of work tailored to each student’s specific language learning needs.
EAL lessons provided in place of a second modern foreign language in Years 8 and 9 are included within the standard school fee package. In Years 10 and 11, students may also choose EAL as part of their curriculum pathway in place of one GCSE option.
Where additional support is required beyond this provision, including extra group or individual 1:1 lessons, these will incur additional charges at the standard group or individual lesson rate. Any additional provision will always be arranged in consultation with parents and/or guardians.
Students selecting the Year 11 Pathway option should refer to the relevant curriculum information on the school website for further details regarding the course structure and any associated fees.
EAL vs ESL: What’s the difference?
EAL/ESL are sometimes used as interchangeable terms, but this isn’t correct. Learning English as an additional language is different to having English as a second language.
ESL implies that a student only has two languages, but many of our international students are multilingual, and we celebrate this. However, they will require a certain level of English to understand all of our curriculum content and to sit their exams, which is why we place a focus on specifically developing English as an additional language.
In the US, the acronym ELL (English language learner) is often used in place of EAL.
Can international students sit foreign language exams?
Our international students may take an AS Level examination at the end of the Lower Sixth and an A Level at the end of the Upper Sixth in their native language. For example, previous students have sat exams in Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Russian, Thai, and Japanese.
Cambridge Assessments: English Language Learning
International students who stay at Sidcot for a full year or more will be supported in taking the world-leading Cambridge assessment qualifications, which will equip them with internationally renowned evidence of their EAL skills to take into their future.