Our recent crafting days with Year 8 German students offered a creative and meaningful way to deepen their engagement with the German language. The activities were part of the UK–German Connection programme, supported by the British Council, which aims to strengthen cultural and linguistic ties between the UK and Germany through several projects. During my stay at Channing, I have had the privilege of being appointed a Cultural Ambassador by the UK-German Connection which supports activities such as this one. Our students have the partner school “Albert-Schweitzer-Schule” in Lübeck, which makes the project more real and exciting for them.

The main activity was to create personal identity collages. Students used pictures, words, and colours to show who they are, what they like, and what is important to them. They also used their German knowledge to practise the language in a natural way. Prior to the crafting day our students already worked on many smaller tasks to reflect about their own lives and how they are connected to people in other countries. These activities and the creative day helped them improve their German skills, but also helped them understand different cultures better. Overall, the crafting days were enjoyable and helped students feel more connected in a global world.

Frau Peters, German Language Assistant