Italian

Italian is an important language for people in business, the arts, technology and many professions. It is useful if you are planning careers in art history, music, linguistics, education and international relations. Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, graphic design, etc. If you are planning a career in one of those fields, you will benefit from knowing Italian. Art historians need Italian. According to UNESCO over 60 per cent of the world’s art treasures are found in Italy.

Italian language, literature, history, and culture have been a source of admiration and study for many writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to E.M. Forster, and so many other writers around the world. Italian is a language of poetry and music, which allows you to read and study great works by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Pirandello, Calvino and others in the original language.

It is a department of experienced and enthusiastic multi-linguists, who enjoy teaching Italian and gain great enjoyment and satisfaction from helping the girls develop their Italian language skills.

Learning Italian provides a wonderful base on which to build knowledge of other languages too, such as Spanish, French and Portuguese. Girls can choose to study Italian in Year 10 and 11 for the IGCSE and then take it further to A level. All girls are taught by a highly experienced team who place the learning emphasis on developing communication skills, but with an element of fun.

We run many supporting clubs and activities, which all provide extra opportunities to develop language skills, pronunciation and knowledge of Italian culture. At this level, these activities include the Key Stage three Italian club and Key Stage 4 and 5 Italian Film Club.