Last term, our German department launched an online exchange programme with the Helmholtz Gymnasium in Karlsruhe, a co-educational secondary school with an attached Sixth Form and specialisms in Music, Languages and Science (helmholtz-karlsruhe.de), which we have had contacts with in the past.

Through this initiative, students are able to use their German knowledge by writing and speaking to students of the same age via email or letter then remote face-to-face contact via our school Google Meet platform.

We met up virtually for the first time on Google Meet in March and followed this up earlier this week with another virtual meet up. The students from both schools chatted a lot in German and English, and enjoyed taking part in online group discussions.  They also played Blooket (a fun trivia and review game online) several times, which was something new for the German students.

We hope to eventually visit the school in Karlsruhe, so that students can meet their exchange partner in Germany and vice versa.