Year 11 pupils runners up in national competition

Two Exeter School pupils are runners up in a national competition organised by the Oxford German Network.

Upper Fifth Formers (Year 11) pupils Rebecca Richardson and Abby Pelling took part in the German For The Future competition, part of the Oxford German Olympiad 2014, during their GCSE exams.

They had to fill in a two-page survey in German answering questions about what primary school children should learn about in their German lessons and why; which Bruder Grimm fairy tales they would recommend be told to children and why; and which German speaking town or area would be of interest to primary school children and why. 

Rebecca and Abby suggested that pupils should learn about traditional German food, culture, sights and famous German sports personalities.  They particularly recommended German sweet foods such as black forest gateau, Stollen at Christmas, Lebkuchen and German breads, cheeses and hams. They thought that the story of Hansel and Gretel could be used in lessons to emphasize how we should appreciate our families and suggested Salzburg as a place to visit because of the connection with 'Sound of Music'.

German teacher Samantha Wilson said: "The pair explained all their answers in German, without any corrections or improvements from me, and during a busy revision period, so I am very proud of them.

Rebecca and Abby said they took part in the competition because they are taking German A Level next year so they thought it would be a good chance to practise.

"We were very surprised and pleased that we did so well and can't wait to use our German whilst travelling around Europe in the summer," they said.