3:20pm Tuesday 22nd June 2010
By Kate Proctor
LAKE District students have been strengthening Winder-mere’s links with its twin town by setting up a new student exchange.
Following the visit of 25 German pupils to Windermere St Anne’s School earlier this year, a group of Year 9 pupils travelled to the lakeside holiday resort of Diessen, near Munich, to spend a week with host families and attend Amersee Grammar School.
Led by German teacher Katrin Hertel, the exchange was designed to give students a taste of German life and help them practise their language skills.
But the school also claims the exchange has helped to reinvigorate the concept of twinning among the town’s younger generation.
“There are a lot of similarities with Windermere because they have the same look, with Diessen sitting on Lake Amersee in the mountains and it is a place that is very popular with holidaymakers,” said Miss Hertel. “I think our exchange has definitely strengthened the link between the two towns and has given younger people a great experience of another culture.”
After spending a couple of days attending classes at the school, students spent their time hiking in the Bavarian hills, visiting castles and exploring the Olympic stadium in Munich.
They also met with the Mayor of Diessen, Herbert Kirsh, who awarded them with a small coat of arms of the town.
Year 9 student Lauren Cunningham said: “I learned loads of new German words — over 100 — and staying with the exchange partner and family was my favourite part as they always spoke German to me and were very nice.”
Chair of Windermere’s twinning committee Jenny Borer said: “A key objective for both Windermere and Diessen is to get the younger generation involved in twinning and this is a great way of bringing new people into Windermere to experience our culture. The Lakes School has been running an exchange to Diessen for a number of years, and it’s great to have Windermere School involved too.”
Miss Hertel said: “The very first exchange was a great sucess and students were able to really learn a lot from their host families, especially the ones that are already learning German. Hopefully many of them will continue to study German during their time at the school.”
The school plans to make the exchange a permanent event, and plans are under way to design an exchange programme to help students studying the school’s new international GCSEs.
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