German

The German course aims at A Level to extend the four GCSE skills – reading, speaking, listening and writing.

Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to study one film and one literary text in detail but the programme allows much freedom of choice for independent study. The A Level German course reflects the issues of the contemporary world, e.g. aspects of German-speaking society, artistic culture in the German-speaking world, multiculturalism aspects of political life in the German-speaking world.

Over two years of study, the programme helps students to develop their general study skills, and, above all, aims at enabling them to communicate at a higher level in German. The course covers a wide range of topics relevant to German-speaking society, full details are available in the A Level course guide.

All candidates are offered weekly speaking tutorials, on an individual basis or in very small groups, with the school’s native speaker assistant. Research of German language areas of the internet is positively encouraged, with the multi-media language laboratory offering a variety of further opportunities. Visits and exchanges are arranged as required, often on an individual basis to suit particular students, and the precise format of these may therefore vary.

Opportunities for university entrance in the current climate are excellent; the number of courses combining German and other disciplines is growing all the time. Virtually all the department’s students proceed to university level studies in many different subjects; former students who have graduated have entered fields as diverse as teaching, finance and the Royal Navy.

The course will suit those who have genuinely enjoyed their GCSE studies, who have acquired in the process sound fundamental grammar and are willing to travel to use their German in the countries where it is spoken.