A group of Year 9 students spent seven days in Bremerhaven. The boys and girls stayed with their partner families and enjoyed a varied programme of excursions, social events and German school life. Our students had the opportunity to follow the process of publishing a newspaper. On our trip to Hamburg we enjoyed great weather and a boat tour round the harbour in Hamburg. IN Bremerhaven we visited the recently opened museum of emigration where we learned about the history of emigration from Bremerhaven to the New World. Our busy schedule was concluded with a visit to Bremen and the Science museum.

The visit to Bremerhaven is part of the annual German exchange which takes place over two legs. Students in Year 8 and 9 make contact with students of the Lloydgymnasium in Bremerhaven over the summer term by completing personal profiles and sending emails. The German students visit Saffron Walden in the following autumn term with our return visit taking place at the end of the Easter holidays.

Students are able to improve their spoken German, experience life in Germany at first hand and establish close relationships with German students of their own age. Above all the trip abroad encourages our students to become more independent and responsible and facilitates learning that would be impossible within the confines of a classroom.

Peter Fasching

Many thanks to Peter Fasching for organising the German Exchange and for these photos.

Click here to visit the website of our exchange school - the Lloyd Gymnasium in Bremerhaven.

Click here to see photos of last year's German Exchange.