Over the Half Term, six German studies pupils travelled to Berlin for a series of enriching discussions and activities to help with their Sixth Form course.
The adventure began with a thought-provoking and inspiring tour around the Kreuzberg district, and ended with a delicious Turkish lunch and mosque visit. From there the group headed to the Abgeordnetenhaus where they had a tour of the parliamentary building where the pupils were able to learn more about German politics. The evening saw the group head to the Brandenburg Gate Linden Allee to see the Festival of Lights.
The following morning the pupils departed on an early train to Dresden where they explored the rebuilt city on the ‘Hop-on Hop-off’ bus tour before returning to the centre, where they had a guided tour of the Zwinger.
The group then embarked for Schulpforte (Naumburg), enjoying a tour of the school before heading off to Weimar to see the Weimar House Museum. On a tour of the city, they learnt a lot about its literary, political and cultural history.
Returning to Berlin their first stop was Greenpeace where they participated in a two hour discussion on current environmental issues and learnt about recent campaigns.
At the end of the week, pupils met former police officer Christian Matzdorf to learn about youth and drug crime in the capital, after which they headed to the ancient Clärchens Ballhaus, where they were entertained with dance lessons, lots of mirrored walls and outstanding food. The final day was spent visiting Checkpoint Charlie, The Holocaust Museum and Jewish Museum, before retiring to the Alexander Platz.
Not only were the pupils able to improve their speaking skills by constant communication in German, but they were also able to immerse themselves in the German culture, with plenty of free time to explore the cities for themselves.
