HBS German

Course Overview

German is becoming increasingly important in the world of work, especially as fewer schools are offering it. This means that those leaving school with knowledge of German are likely to be more in demand and able to command a higher salary in certain industries. 

As well as providing a fascinating insight into the German-speaking countries, the course is designed to provide the opportunity to explore intellectually stimulating topics including social issues and current affairs.

Course Content

Building on GCSE, the course units focus on the following topic areas:

Year 12

Year 13:

In Paper 1 (50%) you are required to tackle listening and reading comprehension tasks that relate to these topics and to translate short passages from English into German and German into English.

In Paper 2 (20%) you are required to write analytical essays on the film Goodbye Lenin (Wolfgang Becker) and the book Der Vorleser (Bernhard Schlink).

In Paper 3, the Speaking Exam, (30%), you will be expected to discuss issues relating to any of the topic areas listed and to talk about a personal area of research that you have undertaken in Year 13.

Language skills are increasingly sought by employers in a wide range of fields; indeed, many international companies expect competence in more than one foreign language. As far as the Consortium and universities are concerned, languages are compatible with almost any combination of support subjects, whether arts, sciences, or a mixture of both.


Course Entry Requirements

6 or above in GCSE German


Course Specification

AQA 7662

German Specification link


Homework

At A Level, students are expected to complete a minimum of  5 hours of study a week on top of their allocated lesson time.