spanish
Spanish continues to thrive at Hampton School and currently three forms start Spanish as their main language in the First Year.
The Spanish Department is lively, dynamic and committed to sharing with the boys our love and enthusiasm for all things Hispanic. The teaching staff includes eleven excellent linguists, two of whom are native speakers and all with a wealth of expertise. The ethos of the Spanish Department revolves very much around spoken confidence and fluency, but this is always underpinned by promoting a robust understanding of Spanish grammar.
We are lucky enough to have two full-time Spanish Assistants who work with pupils throughout the School. Sixth Form pupils attend in pairs for one timetabled lesson per week, discussing contemporary social issues and developing their conversational skills. First to Fifth Year Hamptonians see one of the assistants during one of their weekly timetabled Spanish lessons. Boys also benefit from our well-stocked resources centre, full of authentic materials, magazines, books and DVDs. They also have access to ClickView where they can find a whole host of documentaries and films relevant to the Hispanic world. Most recently, boys in the Fourth Year have been introduced to Spellian, an online platform which allows boys to speak to a native speaker on a regular basis, which is proving to be a great success. For those preferring in-house clubs, there is a Fifth Year Spanish Chats Club for pupils wishing to prepare their communication skills for their GCSE examination.
Co-Curricular
Trips
The Spanish Department currently runs four trips to Spain and encourages boys at every level to take part. Our trip programme allows pupils to visit four very distinct areas of Spain – from beautiful, rural Andalusia to the ancient Mediterranean port city of Valencia and the bustling and cosmopolitan capital, Madrid and the UNESCO declared World Heritage city of Córdoba. Furthermore, Hamptonians also have the opportunity to take part in a trip to Latin America which runs biennially to either Cuba or Mexico.
As well as offering trips abroad, we seek to make the most of all London has to offer by organising theatre and cinema trips to see Spanish or Latin American plays or films. The Sixth form regularly attend study days held at the BFI and also have the option to participate in an annual Spanish debating competition for independent schools across the region. Closer to home, we regularly organise streamed film and theatre events in the comfort of our very own Lecture Theatre.
