German is one of three modern languages offered to students from
Year 8 onwards. It is a well-established subject with a proven
track-record, as results in public examinations amply testify.
In recent years, over 90% of pupils have achieved A or A* grades
at GCSE after four years of study, while over the longer term since
1988 when GCSE started, 1192 of our 1278 entered candidates reached
these grades. At A level over the same period, 180 of our total
entry of 233 students achieved grades A and B.
Lively and compelling courses, delivered with a degree of
rigour, ensure that students understand how German works. It is not
merely a matter of learning how to get by with phrase-book
formulations. The basic course material is supplemented by video,
satellite and internet class materials and interactive programmes
on PC. These are available in all four rooms in the department
suite.
To GCSE we pursue a unitised course which paces students'
motivation throughout years 10 and 11. Students appreciate the
advantages of the controlled assessment which allow them to
complete parts of their GCSE before they enter the examination room
in the summer of their Year 11.
The take-up of German in the Sixth Form has in recent years has
been excellent. Our Sixth Form course involves little or no
literature, at least not in the manner of A Level language studies
a generation ago. In its place, we study in German the history of
Berlin 1945 until 1980 and the problems of immigration and
multi-culturalism in contemporary Germany. We are also due to begin
studying German Film as part of the Cultural Topics at A2
level.
German Activities
Trips and Exchanges are a very important part of what we offer.
They make a measurable difference to examination results and to
levels of motivation throughout the school.
In Year 8, seven weeks after starting German, a coach full of
twelve year olds visits the Rheinland for six days away from home.
As the photograph shows, it isn't all swimming, football and
generally letting off steam. The course covers post-Napoleonic
Franco-German conflicts and the creation of the EU, the institution
we hope will have settled the issue once and for all. Obviously
learning some German, eating German food and generally learning to
feel at home there, are also part of the aim.
In Years 10 and 12, we have a student Exchange arrangement with
a mixed grammar school in Bonn. Between 35 and 40 students take up
the opportunity every year and many of the friendships which ensue
last well beyond the two weeks of one's visit to the German
partner's household. In recent years, a work-experience component
has been added to the Exchange for Year 12 students who have
variously work-shadowed in a hospital, an art gallery, a bank, the
armed forces, a veterinary surgery, a theatre, an electronics
factory, an archaeological dig, a T.V. studio, a publishing house
and many more. Needless to say, for more or less all the seventeen
year olds involved in this programme, their experience of work in
Germany has been more or less life-altering.
The level of staff involvement in the organisation of all this
is considerable, but the efffect on students' progress is so
dramatic that the Department considers is well worth the
effort.
Head of Department
R A Catterall, MA
Members of the Department
K M Hiepko, Erstes Staatsexamen fur das Lehramt
K G Brace, BA
R A Freem, BA
M Stabenow (German Assistant)