New Language Qualification Pioneered by Victoria College Belfast

On Friday 6th September 2018, the French Language Attaché of the Institut Français in the UK, Monsieur Benoît Le Dévédec, awarded DELF certificates to 34 pupils of Victoria College Belfast in south Belfast. The school is the first Northern Ireland to offer this qualification.

"The way DELF is structured complements language studies in school, with level A1 ideally matched to the end of KS3", said Madame Claire Williamson, teacher of French at Victoria, who saw the potential benefit for pupils as official accreditation after three years of learning and as a springboard for further study, and who championed its introduction to the school. "DELF rewards authentic language competence, promotes active learning and helps the pupils to be independent learners. I am delighted that Victoria College was prepared to offer DELF to our Year 10 cohort, as a pilot exercise which will now become an annual feature of our school calendar."

Feedback from pupils has been very positive:

"This programme has given me confidence; I would recommend other people give it a go." Jenna "I found the DELF really useful for my French learning; it has also made it easier to understand our French lessons in school." Aina "It will help me pursue languages in later life." Lucy

Congratulating the students and the school, Monsieur Le Dévédec, French language Attaché to the French Embassy, said : “As an official French diploma with international recognition, the DELF is highly valued in education and the job market. Victoria Collage is the first school in Northern Ireland to offer this qualification. Congratulations to your school for giving you this opportunity and well done to each one of you. This is a significant achievement which we hope will inspire many of you to continue learning French."