A German exchange has been the focus of the Modern Languages department at The Sixth Form College, Solihull this month.
A Level German students welcomed fellow students from the College’s German partner school, Albert-Einstein-Schule in Main-Taunus-Kreis near Frankfurt to Solihull for a week’s visit. This follows a trip to Germany last December, which was the first part of the exchange programme.
The German students arrived to a welcome from Principal Paul Ashdown, followed by an official reception with the Mayoress of Solihull at the Mayor’s Parlour. It was a happy reunion for the students, who had forged good friendships before Christmas.
A series of trips and visits were also organised for our visitors, including a trip to Cadburys World, which also included a talk about the Bournville Village Trust. An outing to Oxford with both sets of students was also part of the week’s itinerary and the students went on a Harry Potter tour and visited Christ Church and the Divinity School.
The German students were also taken on a trip to historic Stratford and the week concluded with a goodbye meal at Jimmy Spice’s in Solihull on the Friday night.
German teacher Deborah Smail-Ross commented, “I think everybody had a great time and both the German teachers and I declared the whole exchange (both in Germany and here) a big success. Immersing yourself in a foreign culture and having to speak the language all the time is hugely beneficial in developing listening and speaking skills, so both sets of students learnt a lot from both visits.
“The students also got on really well and have forged strong friendships, which only strengthens the partnership this College has with the Albert-Einstein-Schule. We teachers were taken aback by the emotional farewells at the airport, where the majority of students were crying!”