Staff
Mr D R Lee BA (Head of Department)
Mr A Ellison BA
Outline of work
Currently all boys start to learn German in the Third Form. Every boy studies the subject for at least one year and the aim is to provide a solid foundation on which the boys may build later if they choose to do so. We have four periods a week and all boys are taught in forms by one of two specialist staff. We have very recently introduced a new course book, Klasse Neu 1, which is motivating and enjoyable and which provides extensive practice across the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
At the end of the Third Form the boys are in a good position to decide whether or not they wish to continue their study of German to GCSE. At this stage the choice of whether to opt or not is based entirely on personal preference, but the staff assist through discussion with boys and by liaising with parents if necessary.
Those who opt continue with Klasse Neu 2 and we follow the prescriptions of the AQA syllabus. We supplement the text book with DVDs and IT and boys meet our German Assistant in regular weekly lessons. The overwhelming majority of our boys go on to achieve very good GCSE results.
We also run an intensive one-year course for those boys who drop the subject at the end of the Third Form but who wish to return after the successful completion of their GCSE French course at the end of the Fourth Form.
German is also available as both an AS and A2 subject. Classes are taught in small groups which allow the study and lively discussion of the topics relevant to the sixteen to eighteen age range. We use the Zeitgeist text books supplemented by television programmes, newspapers, magazines and the internet.
Resources
The German Department shares a suite of specialist rooms with the French Department. We have a wealth of resources including text books, tapes, DVDs, videos, Internet access and Satellite TV.
Extra-curricular activities
Boys taking the subject at GCSE and A Level have the opportunity to take part in one of the longest-running exchange programmes in the country: our exchange with our partner school in Cologne has recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and is one of which we feel extremely proud. It provides an invaluable boost to language learning and cultural awareness and is, in itself, a holiday of a lifetime.