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♦ Job Vacancy: Head of Chinese in Oundle School, Peterborough
Job Description: Head of Chinese Responsible for the Teaching and Learning of Chinese in the School: Teaching Administrative Writing, updating and monitoring Schemes of Work for all year groups for Mandarin Chinese, leading to GCSE after 3 years and Asset Preliminary after 2 years Responsible for ordering and managing stocks of Chinese books/resources Responsible for managing the Chinese budget
Developmental Keeping up-to-date with latest Chinese resources and developments in teaching Mandarin in the UK To research/implement the teaching of AS/Pre-U short course to non-native speakers in their 4th year of study
Staff Appointment, Induction and Support of the Chinese FLA and the organisation of his/her timetable Monitoring the performance of Chinese Assistant
Exams Public exam entries for Chinese Marking & setting for Chinese internal exams Supervising the preparation and examination of native speakers
Extra-curricular Raising the profile of Chinese Culture in the School, through the Needham magazine, trips, organising lectures and festivals Responsible for Oxbridge Chinese programme & for preparing candidates to read Chinese at university Responsible for Chinese Trips, including the annual trip/exchange to China Running the weekly Chinese voluntaries
Oundle School Modern Languages Facilities The Modern Languages Department has its own suite of rooms in the Gascoigne Building. Accommodation includes two language laboratories: a Tandberg IS10 media centre (28 booths, 13 of which are equipped with television monitors and video recorders) and a new multimedia Divace laboratory consisting of 28 positions, all of which are equipped with full computer, internet and satellite television access. The installation of this new facility was completed in 2004 and has enormously enhanced the Department’s use of technology in the teaching and learning process, as much audio and video material has been digitised and stored for access by teachers in lessons or pupils in their free time. It is hoped to replace the IS10 with a second multimedia laboratory within the next 18 months. All classrooms have tape recorders, TV and Video/DVD equipment, and are also equipped with computers and data projectors. At present two classrooms have interactive whiteboards and we will have five in total by the end of this school year. One of our classrooms is also set up with a retractable cinema screen, projector, surround sound and Blu-Ray system which is excellent for showing foreign films. Staff We are a large department. There are presently eighteen full-time members of staff, plus Assistants for French, German, Spanish and Mandarin. Languages Taught The small number of pupils we have in our First and Second Forms all study French and begin either Greek or German in the Second Form. In the Third Form pupils study any two from French, German, Spanish, Greek or, for our very bright linguists, Mandarin Chinese. All of these are offered at beginner or continuer level, with the exception of Chinese which is for beginners only. In the Fourth Form all pupils must study at least one Modern Foreign Language; the majority continue with French and about half study two languages. The choice of Modern Languages has recently been extended to include Arabic, Italian and Mandarin Chinese for the most able linguists. Some 40 – 50 pupils take GCSE French in the Fourth Form and then go on to follow a transition course in the Fifth Form, or else they may also begin Mandarin, Arabic or Italian at this stage. As far as results are concerned, it is very rare for a pupil not to achieve at least grade C in any language, and some 90% achieve A* or A. It is also possible to study Mandarin, Italian, Russian or Arabic up to GCSE or equivalent level in the Sixth Form. Sixth Form The specialist courses in French, German and Spanish lead to the AQA ‘AS’ and ‘A2’ Level qualifications in French and Spanish and Pre-U in German. At A2 Level there are currently some 30 pupils taking French, 5 studying German and 18 Spanish and at AS 39 for French, 3 for German and 32 for Spanish. In all three languages in recent years there has been close to 100% pass rate at A Level with a high proportion of Grades A and B. Mandarin Chinese Chinese is offered to linguistically able, determined and ambitious pupils. At present we have small classes of under 10 pupils in each of the Third and Fourth Forms and two classes in the Fifth Form. We teach a full GCSE course, but the aim is to sit the GCSE exam after three years, either in the Fifth Form or Upper Sixth, depending on when they started Chinese. Pupils can also take Chinese in the Sixth Form as an Extension Course. Pupils take the Cambridge Asset Qualifications after one and two years of study ( www.assetlanguages.org.uk). We also provide some lessons for native speakers to prepare them for GCSE and A-Level Examinations. Audio-visual and online resources complement the Ni Hao and Chinese Made Easy textbooks. Pupils learn to read and write characters, and are introduced to the art of calligraphy. History, current affairs and the culture of the Chinese also form an important part of the curriculum. Foreign Links The French department has a well established exchange with a school in Orléans in which last year some 23 Third Form pupils took part, as well as a work experience exchange with a school in La Rochelle at Sixth Form level. Study trips for Fifth and Sixth Form pupils are also arranged on an annual basis. The German Department has a link with a school in Hamburg; the majority of those studying German take part in an Exchange in the Fourth Form and there is a Study Trip to Berlin for Sixth Form pupils as well as a work experience exchange with a school in Munich. The Spanish Department has recently established an exchange with a school in Cadiz and also organises Sixth Form study trips to Seville or Madrid on a regular basis and we are presently organising a trip to Cuba for the first time. It is departmental policy that any pupil studying a language to ‘A’ Level should spend at least some of the Lower Sixth holiday time in the country of that language. Some take part in exchanges, others find jobs. The great majority manage to comply with this requirement. We also run an annual study trip to China for those studying Chinese and in recent years this has been to Shanghai, Beijing and Xian. The Appointment The appointment is from September 2010. We are seeking a dynamic and committed classroom teacher who is not only a highly competent linguist and able to teach Chinese throughout the School, but who is also able to contribute his/her own particular strengths and skills to the future development of the Department, lead others and to participate in and contribute to the life of the school as a whole. www.oundleschool.org.uk
Simon Kent
Oundle School
Oundle
Peterborough
PE8 4GH
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