Featured Programs: Languages/Exchange

The study of world languages is an important part of the Bement curriculum. In the Lower School, students take one term each of Chinese, Spanish, and French, beginning in kindergarten. In the Upper School, all sixth grade students take a year of Latin, which strengthens their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. They then move on to their choice of Latin, Chinese, Spanish, or French for the next three years. Upper School students in grades 7-9 have the opportunity to take a trip abroad in most years; every other year we participate in a long-standing student exchange with, L'Ermitage, a school in the Paris suburb of Maisons Laffitte. Other recent trips have included Peru and Spain; plans are beginning for a trip to China in the near future.

Eighth and ninth grade students participate each year in a national test in Spanish, Latin, and French and fare extremely well among regional and national participants.