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26/05/26

Last week, our students enjoyed a fantastic opportunity taking part in a  workshop. The positive impact was clear, with many eager to continue developing their skills. Thank you to Centre Stage Theatre Academy. tinyurl.com/yhbpd8kp

26/05/26

A busy and celebratory end to the half term saw the H2H attendance challenge end with tutor group 7A taking away the Bongo Bingo celebration event. Well done for most improved attendance.

01/05/26

Check out this weeks new books to explore.

01/05/26

We are delighted to be hosting a HAO Culture, Heritage and Identity Day this term on 22/05/2026. The day is to celebrate the incredible diversity within our academy community and to recognise and express our individuality, along with some curious questions.

13/03/26

This week HAO proudly took part in National Science Week, embracing this year’s inspiring theme: “Curiosity – What’s Your Question?” We believe every great idea begins with a question. So we ask our whole community: What’s your question? Video  

10/03/26

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10/03/26

World Book Day took place last week, but as part of the fun activities throughout the week, students produced some great work. Below are a few examples from some of our talented students.

10/03/26

This week HAO is celebrating Science Week, with this years theme ‘Curiosity - what’s you Question?’ Here are some of our staffs curious questions.

06/03/26

On its way to becoming a yearly event, HAO students are once again taking part in the Mini London Marathon for schools, creating our own mini marathon in the last 2 weeks for the spring term. 

02/03/26

The new spring/summer term sports clubs go live this week. Make sure you sign up and bring the right kit to participate.

16/02/26

As its half term, we didn’t want our students missing out on such a celebration, so incorporated it into our week. Thank you to   

16/02/26

The catering team at HAO created an amazing range of foods for lunch last week to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is tomorrow.

12/02/26

🎓 Happy National School Governors’ Awareness Day! A huge thank you to all our dedicated school governors who give their time, expertise, and passion to support our schools and help every pupil thrive. Your commitment makes a real difference every day.  

30/01/26

Event Reminder - Year 8 Parents Evening is next week. Students will have appointment sheets to book in the meetings. We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.

23/01/26

HAO is launching its attendance challenge  from Monday. What is the prize I hear you ask... the most improved year group will have a pizza party on the last day of this half term. Last time, Y10 were the winners. Lets see who comes out on top this time.

16/01/26

What are you reading currently? Check out our recommendations.

05/01/26

Event Reminder - Year 11 Parents Evening is this week. Students have already had their appointment sheets. We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.

15/12/25

Finally, a reminder: The last day of this term is 19/12/2025, and the Academy will close to all students at 12.45pm. Students will be allowed to wear their own clothes, including Christmas jumpers, and we ask all to bring a £1 donation that will go to our local charity.

15/12/25

Whilst Y11 resume career discussions to support them in planning their future pathways. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to take part in their first HAO Sixth Form taster day - an exciting chance to experience what life could be like with us after GCSEs.

15/12/25

End of Term Highlights - As we approach the final week of term, our focus is on exploring the next steps for not only our students, but those that could join us next year. Banding day was a success as we welcomed prospective students and their parents - with a mop up this week.

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Modern Foreign Languages

Bonjour! ¡Hola!

At Harris Academy Orpington, we believe that learning a language opens doors to new cultures, perspectives and opportunities. Through our ambitious curriculum, students develop the knowledge, confidence and communication skills needed to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.

Our five-year languages curriculum takes students on a linguistic, cultural and thematic journey, encouraging them to look beyond their own experiences, appreciate diversity and develop the curiosity and confidence to engage with people, ideas and cultures from across the French- and Spanish-speaking world.

French is at the heart of our Modern Foreign Languages curriculum and is studied throughout Key Stages 3 and 4. Our current Year 10 students also continue to study Spanish as part of the final GCSE cohort.

Our students benefit from being taught by two experienced native French-speaking teachers, providing authentic language models, accurate pronunciation and rich cultural insights that bring language learning to life.

Our carefully sequenced curriculum enables students to develop secure knowledge of phonics, vocabulary and grammar whilst building confidence in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Authentic texts, videos and cultural resources are embedded throughout the curriculum, providing meaningful opportunities to communicate in a wide range of contexts. Through a spiral curriculum, spaced retrieval practice and carefully planned revisiting of key knowledge, students strengthen their long-term memory and become increasingly accurate, fluent and independent linguists.

Beyond the classroom, students enjoy a wide range of enrichment opportunities. These include educational visits, such as our Paris trip, and participation in Harris Federation competitions, where our students have consistently excelled, regularly achieving podium finishes and first-place awards. Highlights include LinguaChef, celebrating international cuisine through languages, and MundoVision, where students showcase their linguistic and musical talents through performances in a foreign language. We are excited to expand these opportunities even further next year by taking part in an even wider range of Federation competitions and enrichment events.

We aim for every student to leave Harris Academy Orpington with the confidence to communicate in another language, an appreciation of different cultures and the curiosity to continue learning beyond the classroom.

For further information about Modern Foreign Languages, please contact the Head of Modern Foreign Languages.

Click HERE to download the Modern Foreign Languages Curriculum Overview or in the Page Documents below.

 

Documents

MFL LTP 13th Jul 2026 Download