QE boys mixed work and pleasure on two German exchanges, where they had the opportunity to develop friendships and improve their language skills.
Twenty students from Years 9 and 10 took part in the annual exchange with a German grammar school in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. During their stay they went on a guided tour of the town, experienced an exciting tour of the VW factory and museum in Wolfsburg and took part in a football tournament.
They also joined in some lessons at school and worked on projects organised by the PE, German, Music and Drama departments, which involved dance, sketches, art and rap songs.
QE Head of German Burgunde Lukasser said: “Our students also had the privilege of experiencing German hospitality at first hand: upon their arrival in Bielefeld they were welcomed with an extensive cold buffet organised by very busy mums. This was followed by another barbecue and buffet during the football tournament and by an extensive breakfast at school just before their departure.
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“All agreed that they had a tremendous time in Bielefeld. Many friendships were made and quite a few tears shed when the moment of parting loomed!”
The pupils are now looking forward to the return visit of their exchange partners in October and are preparing to reciprocate the Germans’ efforts by offering the best of British hospitality.
The Summer Term also saw the completion of this year’s QE work experience exchange, with seven Year 12 students spending ten days in Aachen. Their German partners had already been to England before Easter and had worked in a variety of placements, ranging from estate agents to television broadcasting.
The QE boys could chose their placements and worked in a primary school (Ben Pugh and Nick Marsh), in a dental surgery (Jiyan Darabi), in a paediatric surgery (Jack Scanell), in a surgery for sports medicine (Diarmuid Chevalier), alongside a judge at the municipal court (Nathan Lightman) and at Aachen University radio station (Daniel Rowe).
Although they had to work during the day, there was still plenty of time for socialising with their partners and their friends during the evenings and weekends. The last Sunday was spent canoeing and swimming at a picturesque lake in the Eifel mountains south of Aachen.
German teacher Borghild Wood said: “This trip gave the students a tremendous insight into the German way of life – at work, in the family and in a social context – and all agreed that they had had the time of their lives! The linguistic aspect also proved invaluable and they all returned from this memorable trip even more fluent in German!”