In NSW high schools, Languages is a key learning area, mandatory in Years 7 and 8.
Language study allows students to develop communication skills, learn about languages as systems and explore the relationship between language and culture. Students engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of societies and reflect on their understanding of social interactions.
At Sydney Girls High School, all students study two languages in Year 7, with the option of studying one or two languages in Year 8. The school offers four languages: Chinese, French, Japanese and Latin.
Students have the option to continue the study of languages in both Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10) and Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12). Additional extension courses are offered in Year 12 for students studying Chinese, French, Japanese and Latin. Students' study of these languages is enriched by excursions, internal and external competitions and language-specific and whole school events such as the Chinese Eisteddfod, Classics Camp, Japanese and French Film Festivals and the school's biennial Languages Festival.