German

Course summary

There are many reasons for choosing German at A level! The UK economy has a high level of demand for German speakers and ever fewer people with advanced-level skills to take advantage of the resulting opportunities. In addition, German is a highly respected subject for all university course applications. At the Sixth Form level, we follow the exciting and rewarding A-level course offered by EDUQAS which allows for involving and varied teaching and provides a challenging, yet attainable examination. The course is designed to take learners from GCSE level to a point where they will have the skills required to make a success of their studies at university. In German, this means developing pupils’ grammatical knowledge and vocabulary so they can express themselves in a sophisticated way on topics ranging from current affairs to contemporary and historical social issues and culture in the German-speaking world, including film and narrative fiction. After a transition period from GCSE, pupils will be asked to source and use authentic articles, film and audio clips independently to research and then respond to the issues they raise. The course is taught using varied methods and resources. Alongside authentic materials, staff use excerpts from a range of textbooks (predominantly ‘Zeitgeist’, Hodder’s ‘AQA A-level German’ and ‘Help Yourself to advanced German Grammar’; EDUQAS does not endorse any particular textbook). We strongly advise all pupils studying German A level to take part in our German exchange during which Sixth Form pupils engage in three days of work experience. This immersive experience helps considerably to deepen pupils’ knowledge, confidence and fluency. Beyond language skills, our sixth-form course seeks to develop pupils’ intellectual capacity to consider issues of moral, political and philosophical importance. The A-level examination papers include Listening, Reading, Writing, Translation, and Speaking. In the written section, candidates write essays in German on both a film and literary text they have studied during Year 13.