News Entdeckung von Köln: Year 8 students delve into German language and culture in Cologne 14.06.2024

Last week, Year 8 students visited the beautiful and historical city of Cologne in Western Germany. The group gathered at Heathrow Airport at 5 am on Monday morning, brimming with excitement for the week ahead.

On three mornings, the girls had lessons at a local language school, where they had challenging but rewarding lessons on verbs, prepositions, and cases – the trickiest parts of the German language. Each lunchtime, our fearless Year 8 students further honed their linguistic skills by ordering their lunch at local venues, engaging with locals, and deepening their appreciation of German culture and food. And while the Bratwürste, Knusperstangen and Flammkuchen went down a storm, the girls needed more convincing to embrace the German love of Sprudelwasser (fizzy water).

In the afternoons, they embarked on a number of exciting adventures. They tackled the 533 steps up to the top of the Cologne Cathedral, visited the birthplace of both Beethoven and Haribo in the cultural hub of Bonn, learnt about a chocolate production line at the Lindt Museum, and zipped through the trees at Schwindelfrei, a high ropes course in the nearby town of Brühl. The undoubted highlight for the students was our trip to Phantasialand, where the Draufgänger (daredevils) amongst them rode prize-winning rollercoasters and got soaked on exhilarating water rides.

By the time they arrived back late on Friday evening, everyone was grateful to head to bed after a jam-packed week. The trip was a perfect mix of language, culture, and fun, and the German department can’t wait to return next year!