English Language Support

Why St Mary's

Our community of international students join us from all over the world, to make up around 20% of our Senior School community. For these girls, and other students for whom English is not a first language, we offer exceptional English Language assistance in our English Language Support (ELS) lessons.

ELS lessons can be selected in place of one Modern Foreign Language throughout Senior School. These tailored lessons will help you to develop your English language skills to support learning across your other GCSE subjects.

ELS will enable you to:

• Make the most of your GCSE subject lessons
• Keep on top of your homework
• Build language confidence to reach your full potential across the curriculum

ELS to support Geography, History, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Religious Studies (I)GCSEs

You may receive additional instruction from subject specialists to reinforce teaching in mainstream lessons. In a smaller ELS class, you will have opportunities to raise questions and to revisit key topics as required.

Individual specialist ELS support

• An English Language Support teacher (either an EAL teacher or a subject specialist) may assist you, at the request of another teacher who is concerned that language difficulties are limiting your full potential. Otherwise, you will continue with work assigned in other subjects, with access to guidance on language points which cause difficulties when you need it.
• If your homework, test or examination results indicate a need for English Language Support with particular aspects, such as pronunciation or grammar, you can access individual teaching support on these key areas.
• If you have questions about teacher comments on your homework, then an English Language Support teacher can explain them.
• English Language Support lessons aim to address English language problems, therefore you will be expected to bring text-based work to the classes.

Please note: this class does not offer a qualification