'The opportunities are endless for those who study German at Bolton School. During October half term, Year 10 student Ben enjoyed a week in Hamburg, studying German and participating in a football training camp run by FC St Pauli. The week was organised by the Goethe-Institut, a non-profit cultural organisation which promotes the study of the German language and encourages international cultural exchange. Here, he shares his experiences of the week,' said Miss Roddy, Head of German in the Boys' Division.
'This camp was a truly astounding opportunity to learn German and play football in the beautiful city of Hamburg, Germany.
On the first day we had a tour of Hamburg, and we were all amazed at the brilliant parks and buildings. We spoke lots of German as we went around the city on some days and we were speaking to citizens asking for direction and making general conversation. Our German lessons were two hours long every day and they were exciting as we went over some new words and phrases, but also solidified our knowledge on things we already knew. For another two hours every day we had football training with the coaches from the FC St Pauli (a team in the second division of the Bundesliga) academy. They were incredibly kind and always willing to help us with anything we needed.
'The sessions we had were always different and fun and the large match we had at the end was incredible fun as we put all of our newly learned skills to the test. The evening activities were great as we often had different challenges and we went out into the city looking for things to take pictures of for an orienteering task. On the Saturday we were lucky enough to watch St Pauli vs Darmstadt in an exciting top vs bottom clash that ended 1-1
'I absolutely loved this week in Hamburg and cannot thank Simone Pfliegel and Inga Grunwald from the Goethe Institute enough for organising everything. It was an opportunity of a lifetime!!
Danke!'
