German exchange - a day in school.

A day in school today, very long for many - 10 lessons, starting at 7.45 and finishing at 5.20!  Some enjoyed helping out in English lessons, in between attending a variety of subjects.


Bild a

German Exchange -arrival at school.

Our students were very excited to see their partners again, lots of shouting, squealing and hugging!

GERMAN EXCHANGE 2016 - TRIP TO WENDLINGEN

Once again the German exchange was a great success. Twenty one students spent a week with their partners from the Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium in Wendlingen, just outside Stuttgart.

They experienced family life, met the local Mayor and visited a variety of places and many beautiful towns, including Tübingen.

Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen

Winsener caves

Church in Zwiefalten

They all spent time in school and many helped in English lessons.








All students were very happy and there was some excellent German spoken! They were praised by host parents and teachers alike. Lots of new friends made and many wanted to stay longer!

Well done to them all for their enthusiasm and for a successful visit!


Schloss Lichtenstein



German Exchange 2016 - Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium students visit Tomlinscote school

At the beginning of the month a group of 23 students from the Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium visited Tomlinscote school as part of the German Exchange 2016.

Among the different activities the students engaged with during the 10-day visit were a trip to Oxford, a meeting with the Mayor of Surrey Heath and participating in the Handball project.



First day at Tomlinscote




Visit to Oxford





























Handball project

We are very much looking forward to the second part of the German Exchange 2016 in October when a group of Tomlinscote students will travel to Germany to visit the Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium.

A Swabian Town - by Alana in Esslingen

Sunday was spent travelling to Esslingen, a town where a small castle nestled on a hill overlooking the sprawling vineyards and timber-beamed houses.

My exchange partner, her family and I started off by exploring the castle walls from where we could see the whole of Esslingen and the surrounding hills. We descended the 400 or so steps to the town below and criss-crossed through alleyways until we arrived at the town plaza. Entering the church, which was the focal point of the plaza, we admired the ornate carvings inside before ambling through the rest of the town.

The old town itself was very cute, with willow trees and oddly-shaped houses hanging over the sparkling brooks below. Overall this typical German town with its medieval houses and fantastical trees was a walk back to the past, and very enjoyable!

Esslingen am Neckar

German Cuisine - by Leonie in Wendlingen

In Germany the food and the way they eat it is very different. In my exchange partner's house, for breakfast I have a selection of food to choose from. It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet! I can choose from a selection of Brötchen, pretzels, yoghurt, cereal or pain au chocolat.

Breakfast in Germany

 For lunch, they usually like to eat a hot meal. When I had lunch with my host family on Sunday, I could choose from either rice or pasta to eat with chicken and vegetables. They also make their own 'Spätzle' at home, which are a bit like noodles.

Schwäbische Linsenteller - lentils, sausages and 'Spätzle'

 For dinner, they don't usually eat as much. Yesterday after going bowling, I ate several little parcel-like sausages wrapped in pasta (a regional specialty called Maultaschen). Es war sehr lecker!

Maultaschen - another Schwäbische regional specialty

Overall I have been very well fed and we will all probably be coming back slightly fatter than when we left. Emma thinks we will have to roll her onto the plane!

Update from Baden-Württemberg

The first five days of the Y10-11 German exchange have absolutely flown by! We have all enjoyed a packed schedule of activities organized by host families and by the fantastic teachers at our partner school, the Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium in Wendlingen. Here are some snippets of the students' reflections on their experience so far, with photos and longer articles by Leonie and Alana to follow.

Samstag - Saturday

Hallo aus Deutschland! When we sit down to have dinner I am always amazed at the amount of food there is. My favourite German food is Schnitzel. The people here are very kind and take really good care of their guests. - Emma

Me, my exchange partner and her mum walked around Wendlingen town then bought some sugared almonds, which only come out at Christmas, and had an ice cream. The town looks different to ours, with lots of old buildings. - Sarah 

Sonntag - Sunday

Hallo England! Am Sonntag sind wir ins Ritter Sport Schokolade Museum gegangen. Es gab viele 'vapour stations', zum Beispiel Marzipan, Rum, und Hazelnuss. Ich habe Schokolade gegessen, da ich Schokolade liebe!  - Eloise 

On Sunday we went to watch my partner Max play in a handball match. His team lost but it was a good experience. Then we travelled to lake Bodensee. The lake borders Switzerland, Austria and Germany. We took a cable car up a mountain there and the views were amazing over the lake and the Alps. We were 1073m up. Es war sehr gut. - Luke 

We went to the Porsche museum on Sunday. It was very fun and interesting. There were lots of nice cars. Mein Lieblingsauto ist ein Nissan GTR. - Adam

Hallo England! The Porsche museum was very interesting. It's just like Mercedes Benz World, although less interactive. The museum had a simulator that we thought was broken for the fact that we all crashed about ten times each. Das Museum war sehr gut! - Callum

We went to a Spa on Sunday. It was really fun and relaxing. I have never been to something like that before and it was a great experience. We took some cool pictures to share with our friends when we get back. Ich liebe Passionsfrucht. - Darcie

Montag - Monday

My partner Sofie and I made pancakes. Ich liebe Pfannkuchen. We cut bananas and red currants for the topping and Sofie's mum had homemade honey. Pfannkuchen sind sehr gut. Lecker! - Gen

I went to a meeting with my exchange partner. At this meeting, people who have been bullied can sort out problems and it allows them to have fun. This was once a year and people could stay there overnight. Es war interessant. - Melissa

The school was very different to English schools because in their breaks they can leave school and if a teacher is away, they all get the period off. They finish school at different times too. Some days they finish at 1pm and some days they finish at 5:20. Ich mag die Schule. - Jonathan.

Dienstag - Tuesday

On Tuesday night, I went bowling with the other exchange students. We had lots of fun with each other and I won! Es machte Spass, weil ich mit meine lustige Freunde war. - Matt 

On Tuesday we all went to Ulm and went up the world's tallest church spire. We also did some shopping in our free time. I have also been horse riding after school. I wasn't allowed to canter but I still enjoyed it. - Gabby

I have been on a segway tour, joined in lessons at the German school, tried some new German foods and done a lot of shopping! I'm really looking forward to our guided tour of Tubingen this afternoon. - Meghan

German Exchange 2015

We are now recruiting students in year 9 and 10 for this year's German exchange!


Students will host a guest from Germany for ten days at the end of June/beginning of July and then fly to Stuttgart the beginning of October. For more details, go to  www.tomlinscoteschool.com  (click on letters, international visits & exchanges,  German exchange intro letter)

It is a fantastic opportunity to find out about one another's culture, improve your language skills and make new friends! You don't need to be fantastic at German, but you should:
- be enthusiastic about getting to know how people live there,
- enjoy trying out lovely typical food like Spätzle (egg noodles) and Maultaschen (like giant ravioli),
- want to see German school life and be willing to help the German kids with their English
- be curious for new experiences, like punting and climbing the highest church tower in the world
- enjoy exploring shops and cafés in German towns to find your own lunch and souvenirs
- not be afraid to stay in a different family for ten days (by the time you go you will of course know your exchange partner very well, so it won't be scary any more)

Click German exchange on the right to see pictures and reports from previous years.

Ask students who have taken part for their opinion!

Get your friends to come along with you!

If you have any questions, ask your German teacher for more information!

German exchange - Dienstag

Home time! So the students met at school today, brought their suitcases to school and attended the first 3 lessons with their partners. We then had a brief farewell where there some tears were witnessed, no names mentioned! (This isactually a very good sign, which any teacher who has organised an exchange will understand). We then drove to the airport, checked in and had a very prompt departure back to London Heathrow. After a small amount of drama trying to find the coach, a large amount of Kinder chocolate products eaten and a huge amount of rain, we arrived back at Tomlinscote 5 minutes after our scheduled arrival time (gutes deutsches Timing!) All students left quickly in the rain, but a great time was had by all. We already look forward to Wendlingen 2015.

German exchange - Montag, Tübingen

After a brief meeting at school, all 29 students made their way to the train station with Herr Bystricky from the RBG. We boarded the train and arrived in Tübingen with plenty of time to meet our tour guide, Elizabeth. We walked up and down many hills, got some pictures of the view over Tübingen and were shown other points of historical interest in the town.

After the tour, the students had some free time to get their lunch and spend the last of their money, before we headed to the meeting point for the Stocherkahnfahrt (punting!). After climbing precariously on to the boat, the two boats set off, professionally punted by our two guides. 

There was some rocking but all stayed safe and dry, and even had time to chant at one guide who Jacob decided to nickname 'Günter' which he loved! 

We then had some free time in the park before heading back to the train station and the students were then met in Wendlingen to spend their final evening with their partners.

Will there be lots of tears tomorrow....we'll have to wait and see!