Modern Foreign Languages
KEHS offers four modern foreign languages – French, German, Spanish and Mandarin.
All Modern Foreign Language teachers are committed to promoting excellence and to the great value of acquiring skills in foreign languages for students’ personal and academic development.
Our teaching gives equal weight to all four skills of Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing, and we seek to deliver teaching in the target language at all Key Stages. All languages also offer an exciting enrichment programme including extension lessons, trips and theatre and cultural visits. The German and Spanish departments also run an annual exchange programme which offers students the chance to experience family life in the respective country and to immerse themselves in the language and culture.
Meet the Head of Department
While studying French and German at the University of Durham, Mr Chalkley began his teaching career at a provincial secondary school in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He loved the experience, both the teaching and the opportunity to immerse himself in a new language and culture. He realised that languages allow people to experience the world in a completely different way, and to understand others better.
After completing his teacher training, he began his official teaching career at Ivybridge Community College, a large state comprehensive school in Devon. He then became Head of German and Deputy Head of Languages at Millfield, an independent boarding school in Somerset. He then moved on to become Head of Modern Languages at Taunton School, another independent boarding school in Somerset, before being appointed as Head of the Languages Faculty at King Edward VI High School for Girls and King Edward’s School. Mr Chalkley is a huge advocate of language learning, both modern and classical, and believes that it can help people become better people.
