Spanish KS3
What will students study in Spanish at Key Stage 3?
Year 7
Year 7 introduces core Spanish needed to talk about oneself and others, including greetings, personal information, physical descriptions, personality and family. Students also learn about school subjects, opinions, timetables and facilities, and begin discussing free‑time activities such as sports and music. Key skills include using the present tense, forming simple justified opinions and applying basic adjective agreement.
Year 8
In Year 8, students extend their language by describing their town, local activities and future plans using the present and near‑future tenses. They revisit school routines and preferences and learn about lifestyle and well‑being, including healthy living and diet. Holiday topics introduce the preterit and future tenses to talk about past trips and upcoming plans. Throughout the year, learners strengthen control of tenses, word order and adjective agreement.
Year 9
Year 9 builds confidence by exploring media and online activities, discussing preferences and describing recent events using past and present tenses. Students then learn about jobs, work routines and career aspirations, using three tenses and obligation structures. They also study famous people, describing clothing, appearance and personality while refining word order and accurate use of ser, tener, llevar and hay
What are the expectations of my child in Spanish?
Students’ written work is marked carefully, with feedback aimed at helping them improve both accuracy and understanding. Teachers highlight the type of error rather than simply correcting it, so students can learn to identify and fix mistakes themselves. It is also expected that students bring a small Spanish dictionary to lessons to support their learning.
Homework is set regularly and often focuses on learning vocabulary or grammar. Although short, this type of learning is essential and should be treated as real homework. At times, tasks may also include writing or comprehension activities.
How can I best support my child in Spanish?
The most effective support comes from taking an interest in your child’s learning. You don’t need to know Spanish yourself—asking your child what they have been studying, testing vocabulary with them, or looking through their work together all help reinforce learning.
Encourage your child to use their own Spanish in writing and speaking tasks, rather than relying on tools like Google Translate, which often produce inaccurate results. Using a good dictionary, online or paper, supports genuine learning and prevents misunderstandings. Above all, offer plenty of encouragement and praise; confidence plays a big part in successful language learning.