German Exchange Trip to Marlborough

We were delighted to welcome our German exchange students for the week as we hosted the first instalment of our annual exchange programme which commenced on Monday, November 10th. Year 9 students Felicity, Felix, Iris, and Scarlet shared with us their personal experience of the week, which you can read below:

Trips by Felicity:

Some of the trips we did include a visit to Windsor Castle and, for the German students, a visit to Oxford. The trip to Windsor was sandwiched by a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride, in pairs. Most people were with their friends from school, but there was a lot of intermingling, with the English cohort attempting to speak their wobbly German. In my opinion, the trips were a great immersion into British culture.

The hosting experience by Felix:

Hosting is definitely one of the most daunting parts of the exchange, with people tending to worry about things, like what they should feed their partner, or what they should do together in free time. I worried a lot about this, but we quickly found an excellent balance between not overloading my partner but also not entirely ignoring him. All it requires is to be prepared to spend time relaxing with your partner, and you do not have to change much about normal family life. It’s very easy, and actually taught my family a lot about how to have more fun more easily!

Overcoming the language barrier by Iris:

One of the most challenging things about the German exchange is having to speak a different language. Many of us have not had to speak in a different language outside of our French/German classes, so having to speak German to an actual German student seemed intimidating at first. But their English was so good, that when I spoke German, they were able to correct me in English, and I found that I learned more German on the exchange trip (which is good because that is one of the most important reasons that the trip started in the first place). Even though she has just gone back to Germany, I still message her in German, so I am constantly learning more German.

Friendships to last a lifetime by Scarlet:

It isn't always the big spectacles or the action-packed days that build the bond between you and your partner. Whilst those parts will help your friendship along, it is more likely to be the small things that might seem irrelevant but really stick with you forever. It's things like trying to stop your giggles so you don’t get caught awake by your parents; singing Christmas songs as loud as you possibly can in the middle of November; it's eating so many chocolate buttons you feel like you can’t even walk. Trust me: those are the kinds of things that you will remember. German or English, first-timer or repeater, introvert or extrovert, your teachers match you up so well that the German exchange will give you memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.