German Exchange Visit: A Week of Cultural Learning and New Friendships
German Exchange 2026 – Stromberg Gymnasium, Vaihingen Enz
15 intrepid students and their two teachers, Herr Neulinger und Frau Murer arrived on Monday 9th March and were greeted by their partners ( year 8-10) and their host parents for the week ahead.
The school week was based in school with some short trips out of school into town, with a town quiz and a lovely tour of St Peter’s tower, and a trip to Avebury. The German students spent time with their partners in lessons and also in some lessons provided specially for them by St John’s staff, mainly activities that they don’t do in their own school eg a PE lesson to learn cricket. They also featured in some German lessons to help our students practise their German language. In one lesson the German students made scones and learned about the tradition of cream teas (Devon or Cornwall?) , then their partners were invited to eat a cream tea together.
In Science, students were tasked with creating a marble run and the challenge was to keep the marble moving for the longest time possible. The winning team, Emilie and Annika, used their physics knowledge to keep the steepness of the run low so that the marble did not gain much speed. They had a time of 7.65 seconds, with the second team having a time of 6.65 seconds.
The German students then did activities with their host families over the weekend, with trips for example to London (including football stadiums), Bath, Oxford and activities such as bowling, swimming and pub meals.
Overall they had an excellent introduction into family life and school life in England and they really enjoyed the experience.
Our students are now looking forward to the return trip to Germany in June.
