Sir Thomas Rich's

The aim is for our pupils to become independent learners and users of German and to further enhance their knowledge of the German language and culture. German for GCSE will provide a sound basis for further study at A Level.  

German in years 12 and 13 is an exciting course of study and combines perfectly with any other subject at A-level. Building on your linguistic knowledge, you will be able to develop your language skills to a standard that will enable you to easily converse when abroad, follow the news and write impressive essays.

"I started German in STRS in Year 8 and continued through GCSE to A-Level, achieving a grade A which allowed me to take my passion for German to University. I read Russian with German at the University of Birmingham and graduated in 2015. I chose German because I had always had a fascination with foreign languages and wanted to learn as much about the language and culture of our European neighbours as possible.
Studying German has opened countless doors for me in the area of employability and has given me so many opportunities to travel and meet new and interesting people. My degree included an Auslandsjahr1, of which I spent 6 months in the University of Cologne and 6 months in a language school in Moscow. My degree also gave me the opportunity to travel Germany with friends, go to St Petersburg during the summer when the sun never sets, and even Martinique, a French territory in the heart of the Caribbean. This year, I am going directly into employment at the British School of Tashkent in Uzbekistan as a German and Russian teacher.”
--Dale Lewis, STRS 2004-2011

“Although German was probably my weakest subject at GCSE level, I really enjoyed learning the language and decided to carry it on at A-Level, along with economics, psychology and English literature. I really love Germany and it is a fab language to pair with business/economic studies, as many major successful companies are German or have a large presence in Germany, Switzerland or Austria.
German was my lowest grade at A-Level but I wanted to become fluent and so I decided to study BA German and Management Studies at the University of Reading, with a placement year in Germany. I’m now in my fourth year and have just come back from my year abroad where I got a 1st! I spent six months studying at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and then moved around three hours down south to complete a six month internship at SAP’s headquarters near Heidelberg. Studying a language at university is great because you have a smaller class where you get to know everybody quite well, teachers and students alike. The business side of my course is very different as there are a lot more students in one lecture.
Studying German at university has increased my confidence hugely and I think I am quite a different person to who I was during my A-Levels. I have just graduated and will be starting my new job as a graduate consultant at SAP in London.
Ich danke euch für alles!! “
--Beth Grant, STRS

2 years ago:
“I am about to start my year abroad in Bad Ischl, Austria (not far from Salzburg). For the first nine months I'll be an English teaching assistant working for the British Council in two schools (working just 13hrs a week and getting paid, so hopefully plenty of time for exploring and immersing myself in the culture!). At the end of my time in Austria, I'm hoping to get a work placement for a few months, hopefully with a translation company in South Germany. In the future, I hope to work in education. “

July 2017:
“I will be leaving Durham with a high 2:1 in German and history. I was pleased with a few highlights from German, including a first in my translation module and a mark off a first in my oral examination, which was quite a shock. I am heading to Bristol University next year to do a PGCE in History (secondary) and hopefully will manage a bit of German teaching alongside.
--Eleanor Youngs, STRS 2011-2013