The German department at Weald of Kent Grammar School aims to foster a love of language in our students and enrich their awareness and appreciation of the world around them, as well as their linguistic knowledge. We work to provide students with not just practical communicative skills for use in the future, but a keen understanding of life in other countries and cultures and a wide range of linguistic structures. Our spiralling curriculum in builds effectively on the foundations of the National Curriculum that students are exposed to during their time at primary school, and we embed both knowledge and skills throughout students’ academic journey with us. Our golden threads of vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation are weaved into all schemes of work and students continuously practise each of them, not just for a specific topic in isolation but across each module, year and key stage. This deliberate practice is key to students’ feeling of success and their confidence with the language they are studying.

Furthermore, we seek to develop students’ curiosity about the world around them and the richness of the cultures of the people who live in it. Our students study grammar and linguistic structures that enhance their knowledge of their own language, and practise a variety of skills within our curriculum that can be applied to a wide range of future pathways. Our carefully-selected lesson content and wide range of extra-curricular activities help to boost students’ cultural awareness, not just of France, Germany and Spain but of the full variety of countries and cultures where the relevant language is spoken, thereby equipping students with cultural capital as well.

Course Content

Years 7-9

In Key Stage 3 students study a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Me, my family and friends
• Free time, hobbies and media
• School life and future ambitions
• Health and lifestyle
• Holidays and travel
• Cultural awareness of and festivals in the German-speaking world
• Rights, responsibilities and society

By the end of Year 9, students are confident with using and identifying five main tenses: present, perfect, imperfect, future and conditional. They can speak and write with confidence on a variety of topics, giving opinions and justifications to support their ideas. They can infer meaning from a range of texts and spoken passages.

KS3 (Years 7–9) – Building Curiosity & Confidence

At this stage, the focus is on exposure, fun, and habits.

• Songs & Music: Learn catchy German pop songs (e.g. Mark Forster, Lena, Wincent Weiss, Namika). Use lyric gap-fills or classroom karaoke.
• Cartoons & Shows: Watch Die Sendung mit der Maus, Bibi & Tina, or Berlin, Berlin with subtitles.
• Games: Duolingo, Quizlet Live, Stadt, Land, Fluss in German, or vocabulary taboo (Tabu).
• Creative Projects: Create posters about German-speaking cities (Berlin, Vienna, Zurich), cook a simple German recipe (Pretzels, Kartoffelsalat), or record fun dialogues.
• Penpals: Exchange postcards or short emails with partner schools in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.

Goal: Build enjoyment and confidence while laying strong vocab/grammar foundations.

Years 10 & 11

In Key Stage 4 students build upon the foundations of Years 7-9 and study the following AQA GCSE French themes:

• Theme 1: People and lifestyle
• Theme 2: Popular culture
• Theme 3: Communication and the world around us

By the end of Year 11 they can write increasingly complex texts and speak with confidence on a range of topics. They can use a wide variety of vocabulary, linguistic structures and grammatical points to further develop their work. Listening, reading and translation skills are also honed and students are able to pick out key and minor details from written and spoken passages.

GCSE (Years 10–11) – Expanding Skills & Independence

Here the focus shifts to authentic materials, structured practice, and exam readiness.

• Films & Series: Watch films/series like Das Wunder von Bern, Good Bye, Lenin!, Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland, or series like Dark (with subtitles).
• News & Podcasts: Nachrichtenleicht, Logo!, Deutsche Welle – Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten (10 mins daily).
• Speaking Clubs: Weekly “Deutsches Café” sessions where only German is spoken.
• Creative Writing: Keep a short weekly German journal, write dialogues for GCSE topics, or create role-plays.
• Culture Projects: Research German traditions like Weihnachtsmärkte, Karneval, Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or Oktoberfest. Present findings in German.
• Mock Exams with a Twist: Summarise a German TikTok video in 3 sentences or debate a GCSE theme in pairs.

Goal: Consolidate exam skills while keeping motivation high through cultural immersion.

Years 12 & 13

In Key Stage 5 students begin to think more critically and analyse information and current affairs in German. They study the AQA A Level German themes of:

• The changing nature of family (Familie im Wandel)
• The digital world (Die digitale Welt)
• Youth culture (Jugendkultur)
• Immigration (Einwanderung)
• Integration (Integration)
• Racism (Rassismus)

In addition, students study a film and a book and write analytical essays on these, giving their own points of view and backing them up with evidence and analysis. They also research and present a topic of their choice as part of their speaking exam. Students study German grammar in great depth and expand the range of sophisticated language and structures they can both use and recognise.

A Level (Years 12–13) – Depth, Critical Thinking & Independence

Now the emphasis is on analysis, cultural literacy, and sophistication.

• Set Texts/Films + Beyond: Read beyond the syllabus (if studying Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink, explore Germany’s post-war guilt, memory culture, and the ethics of responsibility; if studying Das Leben der Anderen, explore East German history and the Stasi).
• Opinion & Debate: Debate current German-speaking issues (migration, climate activism, digitalisation, EU politics) entirely in German.
• Authentic Reading: Read German opinion articles (Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung), blogs and literature (Herta Müller, Franz Kafka, Jenny Erpenbeck).
• Writing Practice: Weekly essays to develop structure, argument, and critical analysis.
• University-Style Learning: Attend German lectures or cultural discussions (Goethe-Institut, DAAD, UK-German Connection).
• Language Exchange: Regular online conversation with German native speakers.
• Immersion: Travel, work experience, or virtual exchanges in German-speaking countries.

Goal: Develop independence, cultural awareness, and critical analysis for university-level German.

Co-Curricular Opportunities:

• European Day of Languages assemblies and events (all year groups)
• German cinema club (Key Stage 3)
• German Christmas card competition (Key Stage 3)
• British Film Institute workshop (Key Stage 4/5)
• Year 10 enrichment trip to a German-speaking country

Testimonials