German

GCSE German follows on naturally from Key Stage 3 with a wider range of topics and provides you with a more detailed understanding and appreciation of the German language and cultural aspects of the country. You will strengthen your own language skills, through the understanding of another language and learning German will enhance your future job prospects. 

Studying a language at GCSE can gain you a clear advantage when applying to university for any kind of course. Students who have chosen to continue with German have attained a very high success rate in the GCSE examination and A* - C grade results are consistently excellent.

What will I do in German?

You will develop your knowledge of vocabulary and language structure and your ability in the four language skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. During the two year course you will study a range of interesting topics including Identity and Culture, such as German Festivals, Traditions and Food, current trends like Technology and Social Media and Global Issues such as the Environment and Social Issues. 

In addition to this, students are encouraged to participate in an annual educational visit to either Berlin or Munich where they are given the opportunity to practise their communication skills,  gain further confidence orally and experience the German culture first hand. 

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed in the four language skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Each of the skills are worth 25% of the final grade and all exams are completed in Year 11. Students can be entered for either Foundation or Higher tier. Students are well supported and prepared throughout the course for all of these exams and the department has many links with the Goethe Institute, the British-German Association and universities, who all offer outreach support.

Why should I study German?

As German is the most widely spoken language in Europe and is the official language of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein, a qualification in German is highly regarded in terms of communication skills and cultural awareness; an invaluable asset for employment opportunities. 

Many universities also offer a foreign language module in a variety of degree courses (including Medicine, Engineering, Law and Business), but even if you have no plans to go to university, most employers these days very much value a foreign language GCSE qualification on a CV. Think of a career WITH German rather than a career IN German.

What will I gain from studying German?

Learning German not only provides you with key language skills (e.g the ability to take in and manipulate information and to strengthen communication skills), it also makes you a very marketable employee. As the third largest economy in the world and Britain’s largest non-English speaking trading partner, Germany is a significant employer in the UK.  More than 2,500 German companies including BMW, Bayer, Siemens, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank employ some 450,000 people in Britain and such organisations state that multilingual employees add value to the workforce. This confirms that recruiting team members with foreign language skills is vital to their organisation. 

An employee with a multilingual ability most definitely has the competitive edge in today’s working world.