Year 8
When girls start learning German in Year 8 they are very quickly taught the most important vocabulary and grammar in order to cope when they go on the Christmas markets trip in early December. Great attention is given to good pronunciation so that they can communicate with confidence. The areas covered in this first year of German include: numbers and alphabet, family and friends, weather, food, shopping and money, directions, school, hobbies, houses and home life.

Along with language skills the pupils are also taught about the cultural, historical and geographical background of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Year 9
More topics and grammar are introduced and girls can now talk about what they did in the past and will do in the future. The main areas that are taught in Year 9 are: travel and holidays, daily routine, fashion and shopping for clothes, healthy living, post office, bank and lost property. Girls practise a variety of role plays both in the classroom and in the languages laboratory, so that they are well prepared for life in Germany if they join our annual exchange trip.

GCSE - Years 10 and 11
Now the girls have chosen to take this language for at least another two years they are taught to communicate in more detail and to express themselves more fluently. They are given plenty of opportunity to develop the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Girls enjoy the sense of achievement as they are gradually becoming more accurate and by the time they take their exams they are confident that they can cope well.

Year 12 (AS level) and Year 13 (A level) 
In these two years girls learn to speak and write in German about any topic. At the end of the course they can claim that they really know this language as they are familiar with most vocabulary and all grammar. In both years we study one literary text by a German or Swiss author but the literature examination for both texts is at the end of Year 13. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are practised throughout this course and examined both years.  Girls are also encouraged to research independently and to find out much more about German culture, history, politics etc. The Berlin trip takes place every other year in autumn and it helps very much to understand the politics and historical past of the country, while we also experience the culture by visiting art galleries, a theatre and Europe's largest department store.