German will be a new subject for almost all students when they join Year 7. By the end of the year, we want students to have a sound understanding of verbs in the present tense, and modal verbs, as well as basic sentence structure. Additionally, we will introduce them to high frequency vocabulary alongside topic and opinion based structures. Throughout Key Stage 3, we assess under 3 main strands: comprehension, communication and grammar. In Year 8, we focus on using two time frames, past and present, and more complex word order. Students will continue to expand their topic and transferrable vocabulary. The Year 8 German trip offers students the opportunity to put the language they have learnt into practice. Whilst continuing to extend their vocabulary base, students in Year 9 will use a greater range of tenses and complex structures. They will face increasingly challenging target language resources and the 10-day German Exchange allows students to learn through immersion.  From the very beginning in Key Stage 3, we use authentic German songs, videos and texts to complement the “Stimmt!” textbooks.  

Those students choosing German at GCSE follow the AQA course, which has four components: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. We ensure that previous topics and grammatical structures are re-visited and built upon during the course. We follow the AQA “Stimmt!” GCSE course, which allows for thorough preparation for the GCSE exam. Students can understand and produce increasingly complex texts. They will develop a sound understanding of the full range of tenses and sentence structure. Students can opt to take part in the German Exchange once again in Year 10 to enrich their learning, and they will also participate in fortnightly speaking sessions with our German Language Assistant. By the end of Year 11, students will be equipped to use their language for travel, and have a firm foundation should they wish to use their German for work and pleasure in the future. They will have all of the grammatical structures in place, not only to successfully complete the GCSE exam, but also to embark on the A Level course.  

Studying German at A Level allows students to become truly sophisticated language learners.  They will be able to work with a wide range of spoken and written texts, regularly read and watch authentic media, and become increasingly confident and fluent with their own spoken and written German. We follow the AQA A Level German course and the wide-ranging topics include current and political affairs, re-unification, Berlin, art and architecture and festivals. Students are encouraged to undertake a two-week work experience placement in Germany and will have weekly sessions with the Language Assistant, as well as the opportunity to attend lectures in German and participate in debating competitions.