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German Study Tour 2010 During Activities Week, 40 year 10 students and 5 members of staff travelled to the Rhineland for four days of German culture. Our hotel was situated in a suburb of Andernach, a pretty town on the banks of the river Rhine. On the first day the students had a chance to use some of their German on a treasure hunt round the town – some students even tried to use some of their German with the locals. We then got up early on the Tuesday for a day full of activities. We visited a ruined castle overlooking the river which had lots of grisly secrets and some particularly dark underground passages, and then continued to explore some more of the river by boat. After that we went on a chairlift which travelled high over the vineyards and provided a spectacular view of the countryside below. We finished off the day by visiting one of the vineyards and trying some of the local wine – although some people liked the wine more than others! On the Wednesday we travelled to Cologne to visit a chocolate factory. We found out all about how cocoa beans were grown and what is added to them to make different types of chocolate before being able to try some from a big chocolate fountain. After some shopping in the German city of Koblenz we then went to the biggest cold water geyser in Europe – standing under it was the perfect way to cool down. The students’ behaviour was excellent and they were a credit to the school. Miss Baxter would like to thank Mr Davis, Mrs Heath, Dr Herbert and Miss Everett very much for their fantastic support and company.

Ich bin ein Berliner (2009) On Monday 6th July 17 year 10 students set off for four days in Berlin, the exciting capital of Germany. The aim of the visit was not only to give the students a chance to use their German but also to enable them to discover for themselves what a pivotal role Berlin played in many events of the 20th century. Our first visit on the Monday evening was a walking tour around some of the sights of Berlin including the Brandenburg Gate. We followed paving stones on the ground which showed us the course of the Berlin Wall. This wall divided the city in two for over 25 years and the students were interested to find out more about what it must have been like to live in a city where you could not travel freely from one part to another. On the Tuesday we visited Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and were given a very informative tour by our Israeli guide. She showed us a reconstruction of the huts the prisoners lived in and told us about some of the horrific events which took place at the camp. We all felt that this visit was very poignant and gave us a greater insight into the Holocaust. We then visited Checkpoint Charlie to find out more about the Wall, in particular the astonishing ways in which people attempted to flee to the West, such as using submarines, hot air balloons and hollowed out cars. The focus of the Wednesday was on modern Berlin, and we all enjoyed exploring the vast department store KaDeWe, the biggest department store in Europe. After that we went to Berlin Zoo, but unfortunately the famous polar bear Knut was inside as his area was being cleaned. However, we did see several other polar bears and some students took spectacular photos of the bears in the water. After some more shopping along Ku'damm we finished our day at the Hard Rock Cafe. On our final day we went to Alexanderplatz, where we travelled at 6 metres per second to reach the top of the TV Tower. We had great views of the whole of the city and were all surprised at how green Berlin looked from above. The students said they really enjoyed their visit and some in particular developed a taste for the typical Berlin delicacy of Currywurst (sausage with curry sauce and chips!). Miss Baxter and Mr Gibbons would like to thank all the students for their positive attitudes and excellent behaviour which made the trip such a success.

Year 11 German Students are High Flyers On Wednesday 10th December 17 year eleven students spent the day at the British Airways Learning Centre at Heathrow Airport. The aim of the visit was to show the students how important foreign languages are for the travel industry, and also to give them a chance to practise their German in some real life situations. The day was split into three parts. Firstly we played a game of Pictionary in German to revise key vocabulary and then we did a quiz to find out more about British Airways – did you know that the shortest flight operated by British Airways goes between two Scottish islands and lasts a mere two minutes? After that we had the opportunity to dress up as cabin crew in a mock-up of a British Airways plane. We read out an announcement in German and then practised dialogues ordering food and drink. Some students even had a chance to do a safety demonstration, except they did have trouble putting the lifejackets over their lovely hats! Finally we were given a tour of the new British Airways building which is designed according to Feng Shui principles and is very light and modern. However, the highlight of the entire visit had to be when we randomly bumped into Chico from the X Factor, who was there doing some charity work. He kindly posed for photos and was really friendly! Overall we had a brilliant day and the airline staff who ran the session complimented our students on their excellent behaviour and willingness to participate. The students all felt that the day had really improved their German. This was proven by the fact that they all went home saying ‘Wie spät ist es?’ ‘Es ist Chico-Zeit!’

German Speaking Test Sheets - Year 10 Students Only (Not Year 11)

Click here to download Topic Three - Foundation

Click here to download Topic Three - Intermediate

Click here to download Topic Three - Higher

German Trip July 2008

Rhineland Tour 2008 Last week 30 students from Year 10, along with Miss Baxter, Mr Scrivener, Mrs Vadi and Miss Margetts travelled to Bad Salzig, in the Rhineland area of Germany. Whilst we were there, we visited a number of towns situated along the beautiful river Rhine, including St Goar, Rüdesheim and Boppard. We particicularly enjoyed the chairlift rides in Rüdesheim and Boppard, with fantastic views over the river and vineyards. In addition to this, we went on a boat trip along the river and visited the city of Koblenz as well as the castle ruins of Burg Rheinfels. On the last day we all went to a typical German cafe for a large slice of delicious German cake! Every evening we worked on our study booklets and practised the past tense, in preparation for the coursework in September. The students all spoke a lot of German in the shops and restaurants, and Mr Scrivener in particular was very keen to use the German he had learnt at all possible moments. This proved interesting as his two favourite words seemed to be Mittwoch (Wednesday) and Uhu (owl). The weather was generally good and overall the trip was a huge success. The students were praised by the coach driver and the waitress in the cafe for their behaviour and we arrived back at Winston on Friday evening tired but happy.

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