Last week 14 German students accompanied by 2 teachers from the Arnold-Janssen Gymnsium came to visit their St Edmund’s partners.
We welcomed them with an English afternoon tea but with pancakes too, as it was Shrove Tuesday. Our students were very pleased to be able to show their German friends their homes and school. They enjoyed a packed programme with days out in London and Cambridge, where they were joined by their St Ed’s partners for an online scavenger hunt around all the key sights and lunch together. On Thursday the Germans accompanied their partners to lessons, which was a totally different experience for them. They were surprised by the longer school day, amazed by our beautiful buildings and somewhat sceptical about the school uniform and the amount of prep! Some German students had the added experience of life in Boarding, which seemed to suit them very well.
St Edmund’s students commented on the benefits of the exchange: It really helped us develop our speaking and comprehension skills for German and apply our learning into real life.
It helped us make friends from other cultures. It improved our confidence in new situations.