We aim to:

• Provide a learning environment in which pupils can enjoy language learning activities and find intellectual stimulation.
• Support the acquisition of study skills across the curriculum e.g. systematic learning, clarity of presentation, language awareness, independence, dictionary and ICT skills.

What staff and facilities are available to the department?

The department is staffed by three full-time and three part-time German teachers. We also have a German assistant. The Languages building has five classrooms, a dedicated Sixth Form classroom, a language laboratory and a multi-media centre.

How much time will I spend on this subject per ten day cycle?

• Lower School: 3 lessons (3 hours) with ½ an of hour homework each week.
• GCSE: 5 lessons (5 hours) with 2 hours of homework.
• A Level: 10 lessons (10 hours) with at least 3 hours of individual study. All A Level pupils have one session per week with the German assistant.

What is German in the Lower School like?

There is no setting or streaming by ability at any stage. The course book used in the Lower School is Logo. Other materials used include German websites, videos, German magazines and Collins Pocket Dictionary.

First Year topics include: greetings, pets, countries and towns, food, alphabet, colours, numbers, time, age and birthdays, timetable and school subjects, days of the week and school equipment.

Second Year topics include: weather, seasons, past tense, holidays, trips and arrangements, lost property, illnesses and exercise, money and shopping, directions, suggestions for activities, TV programmes, and birthday celebrations.

Third Year topics include: asking for and giving personal details, nationalities, preparations for a visit to Germany, past and future tense, shopping, school rules, comparisons with German schools and directions.

What happens further up the school?

At GCSE we follow the AQA syllabus. On average each group has 20 pupils. By the end of the course, pupils should have enough German to communicate effectively in most situations when visiting Germany on holiday or on an exchange visit.

The exam tests three language skills: Listening, Reading and Speaking. We do coursework instead of a written examination. The department has an excellent record of results with a high percentage of candidates gaining A* and A grades.

At A Level sets are, on average, between eight and ten pupils. The groups are taught by two teachers, each of whom is responsible for a particular area of the specification. The course book used is Zeitgeist. We prepare pupils for the OCR examination.

Topics taught in Lower Sixth include:

• The family: different structures and relationships
• Food, drink, health, obsessions and addictions
• Transport: trends
• Tourism and related themes: tourism as a changing phenomenon, tourism and the environment
• Leisure activities: aspects of cultural life, e.g. film, theatre
• Communication technology: patterns and changes to communication in daily life
• Media, e.g. written press, radio, television (roles and influences).
• School and work

Topics taught in Upper Sixth include:

• Integration and exclusion: age, gender, race, religion, equality of opportunity
• Law and order: trends of crime and punishment, civil unrest, policing
• Unemployment: causes and consequences
• The individual and the environment: pollution, recycling; reducing individual energy usage and impact; conservation
• Medical progress: development and change
• Scientific and technological advances: change and innovation
• Literature and the arts
• Political issues
• Heritage and history: influence and impacts of heritage (including colonial heritage) and historical events (national and international) on contemporary society.

Are there any trips and clubs?

Both the German Drama Club and the Lower School German Club meet every week. Trips to the Cornerhouse to see German and other foreign films are also offered. The department organises study visits to Berlin every two years and there is a well-established exchange with a school in Bad Segeberg, near Hamburg in North Germany. Approximately 20-30 pupils in the Fifth Year take part in the programme each year. Stockport Grammar pupils host in the Autumn term and our pupils spend eleven days in Germany at Easter.