German

More detail can be found about all of our academic faculties under the Curriculum sections of our website that cover the Third Form Curriculum, the Fourth Form Curriculum (leading up to GCSE) and the Sixth Form Curriculum.

German has proved a popular subject at Shrewsbury over recent years. We try to make the learning experience an enjoyable one, fostering self-confident expression (as well as grammatical rigour!). Our classrooms in the Main School Building all have satellite television and video facilities, and we share with the other languages a multi-media laboratory.

German is, we believe, a very useful language of which to have a command. It is the most widely spoken language within the European Union; industry and commerce are crying out for well-qualified Germanists (Germany is indeed Britain’s major trading partner). GCSE provides a good basic knowledge; those who go on to take the subject in the Sixth Form gain further insights into the culture of German-speaking countries, as well as an enhanced proficiency in the language.

We encourage all learners to gain exposure to native speakers of German, both through our language assistant and by participation in our annual study visit to Bavaria at Easter: the boys stay in pairs with families and enjoy a structured programme of visits each day. Munich, Nürnberg and Neuschwanstein all feature on the itinerary, and we take in a Bundesliga football match at the Allianz Arena (or else arrange a tour of the stadium). Back at school, we foster interest in German culture through occasional theatre visits, Lieder recitals, and the showing of films.

We believe that all Salopians are capable of reasonable fluency in the German language. The most proficient have achieved truly excellent results at all levels, including an M.Phil (with Distinction) at Oxford and an Exhibition in German at St Hilda’s, Oxford (both 2011). Over the past twenty years, indeed, thirty pupils have applied to read German at Oxbridge, of whom no fewer than twenty have been successful. Four pupils who took A-level this year are now reading the subject at leading universities.    

C.J. Minns  

A Level Results - German

GCSE Results - German