Football, forests, food and fun on German exchange

From the moment of their arrival until their departure,  the boys and staff visiting QE’s German partner school enjoyed a packed programme and their hosts’ generous hospitality.

Thirty boys and three teachers – joined this year by Headmaster Neil Enright – arrived at the Friedrich-von-Bodelschwingh Gymnasium (grammar school) in Bielefeld to a warm welcome and a buffet.

One of the highlights of the opening weekend was a visit to the Kletterpark Johannisberg, a forest-based climbing centre with 90 climbing and balancing stations at seven heights. A football match and barbecue, organised by parents of the Bielefeld exchange students, rounded off the weekend.

In the following days, the boys enjoyed a variety of opportunities to experience local culture and improve their language skills. They participated in lessons and acted as classroom support workers in some English classes. They also took part in special group projects in disciplines dance, acrobatics, music, cooking, film, art and linguistics.

A visit to the Dr Oetker factory proved particularly popular. The company was founded in 1891 and is renowned for its food products such as frozen pizzas, drinks, baking powder and cake mixtures.

“It was a great pleasure to see how much the boys benefited from the language and cultural opportunities available to them whilst also clearly having fun,” said Mr Enright. “This exchange once again underlined the benefits of foreign language-learning, which include well attested improvements in mental abilities.”

The week was founded off with a disco at the school, a trip to Heidepark Soltau (a theme park near Hamburg) and a visit to Sparrenburg Castle.