The Ofsted Inspection of January 2008 made the following comment about Arabic:

".students who show high ability in Arabic, Urdu and Mathematics are fast-tracked to take their GCSE examinations early."

Two main aims are set in the Arabic department. One is to ensure that when Arabic is introduced to the pupils as a new modern foreign language, they are exposed to this vast subject in areas of reading, writing and speaking. Secondly, is also to expose the pupils to Qur'anic Arabic, which although have a similar structure to general Arabic, does differ greatly in others. Therefore, the syllabus is very much an interactive one and allows for maximum pupil participation through workshops and role play.

As a minimum, the goal of the Arabic department is that by the end of Year 11, that pupils have a very strong command of the language to not only increase their understanding but to also encourage them to continue studying Arabic when they enter further education.

The Arabic department has proved itself to be one of the stronger ones by entering pupils in Year 8 for their GCSE. Furthermore, the department has also successfully prepared pupils at a higher level so they are able to sit both the AS and A2 levels.