Second year students studying A-level German spent Reading Week in Farnborough’s Twin Town Oberursel, near Frankfurt.

The students had the opportunity to experience working in a variety of roles at a local school, magazine and the Town Hall, as well as enjoying the hospitality of local families.

Megan Romaine said of her experience, “I really enjoyed my visit to the "Grundschule am Urselbach" in Oberursel. The school were very welcoming and I gained a wonderful experience of the German school system, working with a class of 7-8 year olds. I stayed with a lovely family in nearby Steinbach and learnt lots about Oberursel during our walk around the town and our museum trip. They also took me to Frankfurt for the day. I had a fabulous time! It was an amazing experience, I would definitely recommend it.”

Adam Wills said, “I worked at the local town magazine in Oberursel. This was a great opportunity not only to improve and practice my German, but also to gain valuable experience in the field of journalism, which is one of my possible career interests. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, getting the opportunity to write two articles, conduct research for future articles and take some photos for the magazine. I also took part in the German ‘Karneval’ celebrations, which was an interesting experience. I am extremely glad that I took this opportunity to gain valuable experience and improve my German.”

Kieran Wragg commented, “My work experience was very fulfilling. I was given a lot more responsibility than I expected. I was meant to be checking the Town Hall's English translations, but I ended up translating the mayor’s speech and a letter to Rushmoor, both of which were for the 25 year Twinning Anniversary between Rushmoor and Oberursel. The people there were really welcoming and I had the chance to attend the politicians’ small carnival party and to meet an old student from Farnborough 6th.”

Those who oversaw the student placements were delighted with their contributions and would welcome more students, from the College, on work experience in future:-

Nadine Becker from the magazine Stadtmagazin said, “I was very pleased about how well everything went. Adam was very reliable, did very good research and wrote an article about his time in Oberursel, that will be published in the next edition of the magazine.”

Mrs Zehnder, Director of the school where Megan spent the week, commented that she had interacted well with the children at the school, joining in with their carnival festivities and helping with homework club.

Andrea Einig-Homann, at the Town Hall said, “Keiran’s translation work was excellent”. “We were very pleased to have him, he was very helpful.”

Stamatia Mukherjee, Curriculum Manger for German added, “We are delighted to have been able to secure work experience placements for our students, in our twinning town Oberursel, over a number of years. In collaboration with the Magistrate, we have been sending A2 students to Germany who are interested and confident enough to be there without their teachers. This is an invaluable way to get an insight into the world of work and also an affordable way to gain experience in local companies abroad, as students can stay with their exchange partners from the year before.”