'Guten Tag': GCSE pupils at Murray Park welcomes teacher from Germany

Language pupils in the final months of preparation for their GCSE exams have welcomed a teacher from Germany to help with their revision.

Murray Park Community School, in Mickleover, welcomed Claudia Meyer as part of the UK German Connection programme to help Year 11 pupils prepare for their GCSEs. She usually teaches at Thomas Mann School, in Karlsruhe, South Germany.

Murray Park German teacher Abby Devlin arranged the visit as an extra inspiration to the pupils as they could practice their language skills with someone from Germany.

Abby said: “I was looking for a way to bring more German culture into the lives of our pupils and I found the programme. The group that Claudia spent the most time with was the Year 11s and they really made the most of the opportunity to speak with her and practice their German for their GCSEs.

“We want to give them the best chance and this has really helped to build their confidence.

“My pupils have really enjoyed having Claudia here and they’ve been happy to speak to her in German.

“The response has been really positive to having her in the classroom. I would like to thank our headteacher Mrs Caley for supporting me in allowing me to do this because I’m aware that this does not happen at many other schools. I’m so grateful to be able to take part in the programme.”

Claudia, who stayed with a geography teacher Lloyd Dyson in Ashbourne for her visit, has also been inspired by her trip as it gave her a unique insight into the English school system.

She said: “Our system works so differently so it would be unfair to compare the two schools. However, one thing I did notice which is very different is having students from different academic levels in the same classroom.

“In Germany we have three different types of schools after primary school and it is decided where the pupils go depending on how well they did in primary. This means we don’t have such a wide range of abilities in one class – that must be really challenging.

“They are doing a really great job.

“I see the students as I’ve been going around the campus and they say ‘Guten Tag’ which has been lovely. I’ve also been really happy to be immersed in the English language.

“I’ve seen some of the sights of Derbyshire after the school day and there is so much beautiful countryside.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Murray Park for looking after me so well. Not many teachers can say they had the chance to get an insight into an English classroom.”

Murray Park headteacher Nicola Caley said: “We were delighted to welcome Claudia to Murray Park and would like to thank her for the time and support she gave to our pupils.”