French study day

Just recently, Year 10 and Year 9 students had the opportunity to attend the BFI Southbank for an informative GCSE French study day.  They joined other schools in the vast auditorium where the study day began promptly at 9 am.  Each student was given a workbook full of various exercises like translations, opinions and cinematic terminology.  Multiple brave students requested the microphone to voice their answers, including St Martin’s girls. We also watched a series of short films about controversial topics:  racism, stereotyping, immigration, urban violence and religion.

After lunch we all sat down to watch “Untouchables” starring Omar Sy. It was about an unlikely pairing between an old, sophisticated millionaire called Phillippe and his new young urban carer, called Driss. It showed how they quickly became comfortable with one another despite the fact they shared barely anything in common. It was insanely funny and made us laugh a lot. The movie taught us not to judge people by their differences and that, given the chance, everyone can handle some responsibility.

At the end of a very full day at the BFI Southbank,  Maya said, ”It was a wonderful experience that gave me an insight into French language and culture.”  Anne and Tiemite added “It wasn’t just fun but inspiring and gave us more confidence and motivation to learn French; we found the day useful because it taught us more French vocabulary, vital for our speaking and writing papers.”  Kimberley and Armela concluded, “We were introduced to many new aspects of French culture and were immersed in the French language which motivated us to use it more.  This day showed us that anything is possible.“  Finally, Armela impressed everyone with her thoughts on The Untouchables - “The movie showed me that everyone has a mask for the world as they want to remain strong but they are willing to let it slip for their friends.”