20 February 2018
A group of 19 boys and 10 girls from St Helen’s have just returned from enjoying eight days in Bielefeld on the German exchange. The return leg of the exchange was an opportunity for pupils to gain experience and knowledge of German culture and language, as well as to discover everyday German life with their host families and in lessons at Ratsgymnasium.
This year the group visited the National Football Museum in Dortmund for the first time, where football memorabilia including World Cups were on display. Taking a double-decker train to get there was also a new experience for many! As the German pupils had a day off school for Rosenmontag (the first day of carnival), the whole group of 60 pupils visited Hamelin, of Pied Piper fame. Other highlights of the trip included ice-skating, a behind-the-scenes tour of the local theatre, Anglo-German theatre project and large amounts of pizza and pudding after the visit to Dr Oetker World. On the last day of our stay the boys emerged victorious in the traditional England vs Germany football match, much to the delight of their supporters on the sidelines.
The 51st exchange visit between Ratsgymnasium and Abingdon was a resounding success and details of the 2018/19 exchange will be published to boys in the third year studying German this week.
