Chipping Sodbury School Exchange visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen Does the thought of waking up surrounded by snow-covered mountains and breathtaking scen-ery appeal to you? Or what about making new friends, having exciting new experiences and sampling delicious foods? And doing all of this whilst massively improving your foreign language skills and surrounded by people you know from Chipping Sodbury School? Then why not take part in the next exchange visit to Germany. This year’s visit was the second time students and staff from Chipping Sodbury School had trav-elled to Werdenfels Gymnasium in Garmisch-

Partenkirchen. Gar-misch is located in the south of Ger-many, in the Bavar-ian Alps, only a few miles from the bor-der with Austria. For the whole of our visit this year in April, and also in May last year, the

mountains which dominate the town were snow-capped. In fact, the mountains are visible from just about every window in the school building! Imagine the scenery in The Sound of Music and

you’ll have an idea of what the area is like. It is a major ski resort in Germany, boasting the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain, and it has been named as the Ski World Cup venue for 2011. The students that took part all had a fantastic time enjoying the experience of living with a German family and improving their language skills. Many of this year’s group were returning to Garmisch for a second time, having enjoyed it so much last year, and they are already looking forward to the return visit of their German friends in November.

Why should I consider an exchange visit?

• An exchange is a great way to improve your language skills. All of the students who have taken part in the two visits to date have returned with massively increased vocabulary, con-fidence and feel for the language. This has been proven in Key Stage 3 assessments, Year 10 ex-ams and even a GCSE speaking exam, so far.

• It’s the only way to really experience and gain an understanding and appreciation of another culture and language.

• It’s a great way to meet new people and make friends. You have a common interest with your exchange partner in that you both want to im-prove your language skills. We also ensure that you are matched with someone who shares the same sort of interests as you.

• Although you are living with a German student and their family, you meet regularly (every day, usually) with students and staff from Chipping Sodbury School, either at school or on visits. In fact, many of the students (both in Ger-many and on last year’s return visit to Chipping Sodbury) made arrangements to get to-gether in free time. Students this year organised a sleepover party, mini-golf, in-line skat-ing and visits to the ice-café amongst themselves and with their exchange partners.

• Don’t be put off by having a foreign student living with you for a week! The fact that you have no spare bedroom, not much free time or can’t speak any German doesn’t matter! The German students generally start to learn English at an earlier age and therefore there are rarely any communication problems. In the same way as we have a full and varied pro-

Our daughter has now been to Germany for the exchange partnership twice. Last year we were quite worried about her going to a family we did not know but everything turned out fine. She seems to be more able to understand and use more of the German language in a more relaxed way. When her exchange partner came here we worried that we would not be able to understand her, that she would get bored or homesick, or that she may not like us. No problems – Bettina was fluent in English language and understanding and settled in as a member of the family really quickly. In fact, when she left it was a sad occasion. We have kept in touch since, through MSN, and can’t wait for her to visit again in November this year. We still talk about the fabulous week last year with the exchange students, and we have heard that they do too! This may be Jackie’s last year on the exchange but our son is wanting to go next year. As for Jackie and Bettina, we are hoping that they will still visit each other even if it’s not through the school.

Mrs K Buckel – Jackie’s Mum

gramme whilst in Germany, the German students will have lots to keep them occu-pied here. It’s not necessary or expected that host families will entertain them the whole time (although, of course, you are more than welcome to!). In addition, we

provide a support network for host students and parents to ensure that you feel supported, are able to join in with as many activities are you can, and that you enjoy the exchange ex-perience.

• It’s cheaper. Staying with a family means that we cut out accommodation costs, which means that we are able to fly, go for a longer period and take part in a high number of ac-tivities.

• It’s really not as scary as you think! Admittedly it can seem a bit confusing and daunting at first, but you very soon get the hang of things and wonder what all the fuss was about!

And if you don’t believe us, read what the students and parents who

have taken part have to say…

Even though an exchange is a fantastic experience to be a part of, I was nervous about a foreign person staying in our house, especially since I don’t speak a word of German! However, when Steffi arrived she settled in as part of the family in no time! I got involved in some of the day trips which I had fun doing. As well as Jade and the other people involved in the exchange I enjoyed the week and would happily welcome Jade’s exchange part-ner again.

Ms A Southron – Jade’s Mum

I loved the exchange and it helped me a lot with my German because I’m not a confident speaker in the language. I could talk to Bettina’s (my exchange partner) family and was not embarrassed when I got something wrong. My German has improved a lot. Before the exchange I was about a grade E level, but now I’m working at a grade C level and I’m proud of myself. I loved it when Bettina came to England as well because she is so much fun and we are like best friends. We all got along really well with our exchange partners and their friends and I miss them all a lot.

Jackie Buckel – 10LJS

The German exchange was a fun, outstanding and amazing experience! Not only that but I learnt so much and it made me see Modern Foreign Languages in a whole new way. My GCSE German speaking exam was soon after the exchange and my host family helped me to practise and prepare for it. Without the exchange it wouldn’t have gone so successfully! I am now hoping to carry on studying German at a higher level and I will definitely keep in touch and visit my ex-change partner and her family.

Jade Southron – 11ES

Werdenfels Gymnasium Garmisch-Partenkirchen

To give you an idea of the variety of activities on offer, here is our official programme from 17-25 April 2007: Tues 17 April – depart Bristol, flight from London Heathrow to Munich. Train to Garmisch-

Partenkirchen. Arrive 4pm – meet exchange partners and host families. Weds 18 April – school. Afternoon visit to and walk through Leutasch Gorge, Mittenwald. Thurs 19 April – school. Visit to Munich, tour of Allianz Football Stadium, visit to Deutsches Museum. Fri 20 April – school. Visit to Innsbruck, Austria. Tour of sights, free time for shopping. Sat 21 April – trip up Zugspitze mountain with exchange partners and German teachers. Possible ski-

ing, sledging etc. Sun 22 April – free day with host family or for activities with other exchange students. Mon 23 April – school. Visit to Neuschwanstein Castle. Tour of castle and surrounding area. Free time. Tues 24 April – school. Free afternoon. Bowling Weds 25 April – Depart Garmisch. Train to Munich and flight home to England.

“I am delighted to see the school’s second visit to our partner school in Germany has been a resound-ing success, and that once again, students have benefited from this opportunity. The value of such visits cannot be over estimated, both in terms of learning a language, but also understanding and ap-preciating a different culture and way of life. Our students have made new friends and learned new skills which will stay with them for a very long time. We now have an excellent relationship with Werdenfels Gymnasium in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and I am keen to see more students from both schools take part in the exchange programme. Staff from both Chipping Sodbury and Garmisch ensure that students have a memorable, educational and safe stay whilst in Germany. Both schools are committed to further strengthening the links and I hope you will feel able to encourage your son or daughter to take part. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Ms Lockyer at the school.” Philip Lidstone Headteacher

When we went to Germany on the exchange it was great fun. Our host families were very kind and showed us great hospitality. Our German exchange partners looked out for us and were really friendly. All the people at school talked to us and asked us ques-tions (in German and English!). The two teachers from the Ger-man school that were also therewith us were really friendly and were very funny as well. I was a bit nervous on the way there but when I got there I was ok. It was great fun and I hope to go again.

Sam King

We would now like to invite students of German to take part in the next phase of the ex-change programme. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly valuable experience, both socially and academically. The next visit to Germany will be in April 2008; however, we are keen to encourage students to host a German student on the return visit to Chipping Sodbury in November 2007. This would give students who feel nervous about staying with a German family the chance to meet and get to know their partner student in their own comfort zone, with friends and family around them. The students from Garmisch are planning to arrive in Bristol on Thursday 1 November and will stay until Friday 9 November. During that time they will be attending school with their host student, and will have a programme of visits. It is expected that there will also be events and visits for host students and host families to participate in. Students do not need to be accommodated in a separate room or with a family where parent(s) are home all day. All we ask for the German exchange students is a bed and meals, in a clean, friendly and warm household, where they can experience normal English life and practise their English skills.

The next exchange trip...

The school will be holding an information evening on Monday 9th July at 7pm in the 6th Form Centre to provide more details, dis-cuss arrangements informally with staff and to answer any ques-tions you may have. We look forward to seeing you.

Werdenfels Gymnasium Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Liberation Monument, Innsbruck, Austria