Spanish is the world’s third most spoken language and ranks second in terms of native speakers. In the United States people are studying Spanish in record numbers and in Europe it is often the language of choice after English. If you learn the language you can speak to almost 500 million people worldwide!

By learning Spanish a whole new world opens up before you. Almost the whole of South and Central America are Spanish speaking, thus allowing great opportunities for travel. Speaking the language allows you to see and do things that many travellers are denied. Moreover, you will have many more employment opportunities open to you, whether it be in international trade, communications or tourism.

If you learn Spanish you will also have a head start in learning other Latin-based languages such as Italian and Portuguese. Furthermore, Spanish is a phonetic language – look at almost any Spanish word and you will see that it is spelt as it sounds!

At Kingswood learning Spanish is an exciting and rewarding experience. There are regular film and tapas nights for the Sixth Form which enhance their learning experience. Furthermore, last year a successful trip to Malaga was run by the Department for the first time. The 2010/11 academic year also saw our first exchange with the Leonardo Da Vinci School in Madrid. Currently the Department is looking at a running regular Year 8 and 9 trip in the near future. The additional expertiseof a Spanish assistant for the 2011/12 year will be of great benefit to pupils at GCSE, AS and A Level.