School Study Sessions 2026/27

Wed 2 Dec 2026, 10:00 – 15:00

Join us for our French A Level study day, led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Independent film scholar and Educator, co-founder of Filta (Film in Language Teaching Association).  

This study day aims to offer students the opportunity to see a recent film which, this year, tackles family heritage and art. Isabelle will introduce the film in French, providing relevant information on actors, director and the historical background of the film (Paris at the end of the 19th century). Key vocabulary/phrases to discuss a film critically in French will also be provided.

The screening will be followed by a range of language exercises in French around the main characters, plot and themes (family, transmission). The session will also present some mise en scene strategies used for representing the past and artistic movements (focusing especially on impressionism). Students will also be encouraged to exercise their visual literacy and critical thinking skills in relation to the film.

Bring your students to HOME for a fun day out where they can engage in French culture, language, and film outside of the classroom. 

Fri 4 Dec 2026, 10:00 – 15:00

Bring your students along to our Spanish A Level study day where they can engage with Spanish film, language and culture outside of the classroom.  
 
The session will be led by Dr Carmen Herrero, Principal Lecturer in Spanish Studies and Subject Lead for Languages at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is actively involved in film and language education through workshops for students and language teachers. She is the co-founder and co-director of FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association).   
 
This study day will include a screening of the film Pan’s Labyrinth. 
 
Carmen Herrero will present the film in Spanish, providing relevant information on the film and its literary, social and political contexts, as well as introducing key vocabulary on these topics. 
 
The screening will be followed after lunch by a series of language exercises in Spanish including film analysis and discussion of the main themes in the film and its characters. 

Wed 9 Dec 2026 + Wed 27 Jan 2027, 10:00 – 13:00

Join us for our French GCSE study morning, led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Independent film scholar and Educator, co-founder of Filta (Film in Language Teaching Association).  

This study day aims to offer students the opportunity to see a recent film illustrating the diversity of French cinema. Isabelle will introduce the film in a mixture of French and English, providing relevant information on the contextual background, themes and production. She will also introduce key vocabulary/phrases relevant to the screening.

The screening will be followed by a range of language exercises in French around the main characters and plot as well as themes of food and cooking, young people and language learning. The session will also address some comedy strategies. Students will be encouraged to give opinions on the film and exercise their visual literacy and critical thinking skills.

Bring your students to HOME for a fun day out where they can engage in French culture, language, and film outside of the classroom. 

Fri 11 Dec 2026 + Wed 20 Jan 2027, 10:00-13:30

Bring your students along to our Spanish GCSE study morning where they can engage with Spanish film, language, and culture outside of the classroom.  

The session will be led by Dr Carmen Herrero, Reader in Hispanic Studies and Innovator Educator Scholar at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is actively involved in film and language education through workshops for students and language teachers. She is the co-founder and co-director of FILTA (Film in Language Teaching Association).   

This study day will include a screening of the film Radical.  

Carmen Herrero will present the film in Spanish, providing relevant information on the film and its literary, social and political contexts, as well as introducing key vocabulary on these topics.

The screening will be followed by a series of language exercises in Spanish including film analysis and discussion of the main themes in the film and its characters. 

Tue 26 Jan 2027, 10:00 – 15:00

Join us at HOME, in partnership with the BFI, for our fourth iteration of this Film A Level study session.   
 
This event will focus on the application of the auteur theory to Vertigo (1958), considered by critics and film historians as the ultimate Hitchcock film, conveying his personal vision at the peak of his artistic talents.

Hitchcock’s status as a director rose just as the notion of the film ‘auteur’ was in its ascendancy. As a producer and director at Paramount, Hitchcock had more autonomy over his films than most directors working in the studio era. 

We will consider the development of the auteur theory and its relevance to Vertigo and apply the theory through analysis of key sequences.  

There will also be a screening of the film, offering a unique chance to see this masterpiece in the format for which it was created!  

Led by Victoria Lowe, senior lecturer in Drama and Screen studies at The University of Manchester. 

Wed 3 Feb 2027, 10:00 – 15:00

In this study day, students will be introduced to contemporary Arabic cinema through a screening of The President’s Cake.  
 
Salwa Mohamed will introduce the film and its context. Learners will have the opportunity to explore a broad range of topics related to Arabic language and culture. This will help to cultivate a positive attitude towards learning Arabic and to enable them to develop the ability to summarise the plot as well as describe their feelings and reactions to the film.

This will be followed by a series of Arabic GCSE and AS/A2 level language exercises based on the film’s main characters, events, and themes. Study session activities will be in Arabic.

Led by Salwa Mohamed, Associate Lecturer of Arabic, Manchester Metropolitan University and Arabic Language Tutor, The University of Manchester.