By Mr Hunt, Head of German

On 1st July, 23 Year 8 German students and three excited teachers made their way to Karlsruhe, in the south-west of Germany near the French border. Luckily for anyone who dislikes trains, the Eurostar to Paris was cancelled the night before! Off to Stansted we went to fly to Karlsruhe (Baden-Baden) airport instead – it was even some students’ first time flying. We could not have wished for more beautiful weather as our group explored every mode of public transport Germany has to offer getting to the hostel.

After arriving at the hostel and eating our first dinner, we were greeted by our German exchange partners and teachers. Behind the hostel there was a large park and playground, so the English and German groups played football, volleyball, went on the swings, and ran around at the end of a long day with energy levels unfathomable to their teachers.

For our first full day, we went to our exchange school, Helmholtz grammar school, and students went off to various lessons with their exchange partners. Visiting a school abroad and seeing how they work always fills the students (and teachers) with a range of impressions and opinions, exactly the idea of an exchange. Afterwards, we went on a walking tour of the beautiful town with our Canadian tour guide. The girls’ facial expressions perhaps did not accurately reflect how well they were listening and taking in the information and our guide was very impressed with their answers. Later that evening we met with our exchange partners again in the amazing palace park for a picnic and more games, not to mention a great photo-op at sunset. Back at the hostel, students were very thankful to Mr Hunt demanding they ask the receptionist for their room key in German. Perhaps their first real-world experience of speaking German to a native!

Day two – Europapark. Adrenaline and excitement levels tell me this may have been the highlight of the trip for many students. I believe I left part of my soul behind on one of the roller coasters, but I’m glad they enjoyed the amazing weather again at one of Europe’s biggest and most visited theme parks. Back at the hostel, a pre-bedtime excursion to the local supermarket went down a treat and we were quite the celebrities for some curious German students fascinated by why English students have come to their small town.

Luckily for Mr Hunt’s health, the Eurostar train was not cancelled on our return journey and students were very excited to tell others they had ‘been shopping in Paris’. This shopping consisted of perfume samples at the Paris Eurostar station – Emily in Paris, eat your heart out. The final treat before arriving was students reading a Peppa Pig book in German that someone had bought and translating it into English. A prouder German teacher there has never been.

Thank you to the wonderful Frau Adam for organising the trip and Ms Newman and Ms Issa for giving up their time to support us! Auf Wiedersehen!