German

Course summary

The AQA A-level specification builds on your knowledge, understanding and skills gained at GCSE. It constitutes an integrated study with a focus on language, culture and society. Furthermore, it fosters a range of transferable skills including communication, critical thinking, research skills and creativity. Over the next two years, we will focus on how German-speaking society has been shaped socially and culturally and how it continues to change. In the first year, aspects of the social context are studied, together with aspects of the artistic life of German-speaking countries. In the second year, further aspects of the social background are covered, alongside the German political landscape, both in relation to Germany itself and its place in Europe. The past and its role in shaping the present is viewed through the reunification and its consequences while the focus on young people and politics looks forward to shaping the future of German-speaking countries. We currently offer a two-year course in German. Throughout the two years, students develop an awareness and understanding of contemporary society, cultural background and heritage of Germany. Students learn to listen, read as well as respond to a variety of spoken and written texts which include authentic materials. In class and with the German assistant, students are encouraged to use the German language accurately to express facts and ideas, and to present explanations, opinions and information in both speech and writing. Students are assessed by examination at the end of the Upper Sixth.