Bursar and Clerk to the Governors: Col G R Pearce MBE
01598 760107
English as an Additional Language
Supporting our internationals students to strengthen their English
Dedicated EAL Department
All our overseas students receive support and teaching from the EAL department to help them develop their English language skills. This support is offered to our students at no extra charge.
Our EAL teachers work with students in small groups and as individuals and to help them improve their language skills with a teaching programme to suit the particular requirements of the individual student.
In general, students will receive the following EAL lessons per week:
Year 7 to 11 10 x 35 mins EAL per week
Year 12 to 13 6 x 35 mins EAL per week
The amount of provision can be reviewed depending on the level of English of a particular student.
What We Do
We help students to:
Deal with note-making, coursework assignments and homework tasks.
Practise examination technique, generalising, paraphrasing, summary writing and the evaluation of data, through task-based activities.
Reinforce the topics studied in academic classes by providing further samples and illustrations and by monitoring students’ written work
Sit the Edexcel IGCSE exam in Year 11, the IELTS exam in Year 12 and/or 13 and provide opportunities for students to sit the Cambridge First exam where numbers allow.
Where the student’s level of English is of a sufficient standard, and with approval of the Head of EAL and Director of Studies, they can attend mainstream English lessons, instead of EAL
EAL in the Sixth Form
In the Sixth Form, EAL teaching is designed to enable students to study successfully in their A-levels and at university after they leave West Buckland. This involves developing both students’ language and academic study skills. We aim to prepare students to achieve IELTS 6.5 or above by the time they finish their A-levels. This is the usual requirement for entry to the more competitive and highly regarded universities.
In Year 13, if a student meets the IELTS requirement for the university programmes of their choice, they can reduce their EAL timetable to one hour per week.