During the summer, Year 12 pupil Kate continued her passion for studying German by participating in the 2025 UK-German Connection Programme. This programme is one of many opportunities available to Wallace students through the Modern Languages Department. Read all about her amazing super-curricular experience in her own words.
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Preparing for the Adventure: Nerves and Excitement
During the summer holidays, I had the privilege of spending two full weeks in the beautiful town of Erlangen in Bavaria, as part of the UK-German Connection Pupil Course.
After hearing Anna Greenaway (Year 14), a previous Wallace participant, enthuse about her experiences on the programme, I knew I wanted to go and immediately set about submitting my application. I’ll admit that when the email arrived in my inbox congratulating me on gaining a place on this year’s course, I was excited and extremely grateful—but also nervous about what I had let myself in for. I would be travelling to Germany with 11 other students from the UK whom I had never met before and living with a German family who might not speak English, eat pizza, or understand my Northern Irish sense of humour! In teenage talk… I was cooked!
I soon realised that my fears were totally unfounded.
The UK-German Connection organisers were brilliant and set up a series of really helpful pre-course webinars, where I was able to get to know all the other 11 participants well in advance of the trip. It didn’t take us long to set up a WhatsApp group, so by the time we finally met in person on 15th July at Heathrow Airport, it felt like we had known each other forever. I had also been chatting with my Gastschwester, Lotta, for several weeks beforehand, which meant that meeting my host family was actually really exciting rather than utterly terrifying.
I struck the jackpot with the Faber Familie—they could not have been more friendly and welcoming. They also spoke flawless English (but encouraged me to speak German… obviously), and Herr Faber thankfully shared my sense of humour! One of the first things they presented me with was a Fahrrad (bicycle), which became my trusty steed for the following two weeks. My bike granted me the freedom to ride to school with Lotta each day, explore Erlangen at leisure, and meet up with the growing circle of friends I quickly made. It was incredible how much confidence and independence I gained!
Life in Erlangen: School, Culture and Friendship
From Monday to Friday, Lotta and I joined the other 11 UK participants with their Gastbrüder und Gastschwestern at the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium (ASG) Erlangen—a large high school similar to Wallace—where we initially had lessons aimed at expanding our everyday German (Alltagsdeutsch) language skills. At first, it was daunting trying to converse in German, especially as German teens, just like UK teens, have their own slang terms—such as Alter (Bro), Krass (awesome), Geil (cool), and Kumpel (mate)—but I can now confidently tell my best friend: “Du bist ein krasser Kumpel!”
We also had the opportunity to participate in weekly Thematic Workshops, where we discussed topics such as food waste (in German) and used our creative skills to save food that would otherwise have been thrown away—turning it into culinary masterpieces… aka smoothies and salads. We also discussed topics such as fashion and got to try on some Franconian Tracht (traditional clothes), as well as being treated to some delicious cakes baked by Frau Katona, one of our teachers, and her family!
I really enjoyed joining my new classmates in PE and extra-curricular volleyball, and also getting to study the reactivity series—in German—in der Chemie Stunde (Dr Shepherd would have been proud). Unfortunately, Spanish taught in German proved to be a step too far… as I shamefully fell asleep in class, much to the amusement of meine Lehrerin and my new German compatriots.
Being immersed in school life at ASG definitely increased my confidence in speaking and listening in German, as well as granting me the enormous privilege of meeting and getting to know other young people from a different country and culture. I have, without a doubt, made friends for life!
The UK-German Connection Course is not all work… there was plenty of playtime too! The school day at ASG started really early—before 8am—but it also finished around 3pm, which gave us loads of free time to put our Fahrräder to good use and head to the outdoor swimming pool (Freibad), ice cream parlours (Eiscafés), and of course, go shopping (Einkaufen).
I’ll be the first to admit that I do not have an adventurous palate, but I did step out of my comfort zone to sample some of the local delicacies. Schnitzel (basically breaded fried chicken) and pretzels were definitely my favourites, but I drew the line at Weißwurst (a white veal sausage). And of course, there was always McDonald’s!
Unforgettable Moments and Lasting Memories
We were absolutely spoilt by our host school and families! The number of activities and cultural trips packed into the two weeks was mind-blowing. On our first day, we were taken on a city tour (Stadtführung), where we learnt lots of interesting facts about the history of Erlangen. It is an absolutely beautiful and bustling city that I fell in love with over the two weeks, and I would love to return one day. We were also made to feel very special when we were invited to the Rathaus to meet and chat with the Mayor of Erlangen!
In addition, we enjoyed numerous day trips and excursions. In Nürnberg, we were treated to a fascinating tour of the STAEDTLER factory (yes, that’s all those rubbers and pencils we use in school), as well as a visit to a local radio station, where one of our team members, Oscar, gave a live interview. My favourite place had to be Bamberg—a city known to locals as ‘Franconian Rome’ due to its many hills and waterways. It was absolutely stunning!
At the weekends, we got to spend quality time with our host families. During my first weekend, the Fabers took me 100km north of Erlangen to the ancient city of Coburg, where Lotta’s charming grandpa regaled me with tales of the city and took us to all the nooks and crannies that tourists would be sure to miss. It was a truly special day that I will never forget. I also got to try another local delicacy, Coburger Klöße—special dumplings famous in Coburg! I wasn’t sure about them… but at least I tried them!
Lotta also surprised me with concert tickets to a German boy band I hadn’t heard of, but it was a great night with great music—and the lead singer was quite cute!
On the second weekend of my stay, I volunteered as a marshal at the Erlangen Triathlon, in which Lotta’s mum was inspiringly taking part. Although it rained torrentially all day, it didn’t dampen the buzzing feeling I got from playing an active role in the local community. I don’t mean to boast, but by the end of the morning, I was shouting “Wasser! Wasser!” to the passing runners as fluently as any local.
As the two weeks neared their end, I knew it was going to be incredibly difficult to say goodbye to my German family, my host siblings, and my fellow UK participants… I was absolutely dreading it!
Unfortunately, like all good things, the final farewell party (Abschiedsfeier) arrived. To say there were lots of tears is probably an understatement. I can honestly say that I had the best two weeks of my life, and I am so grateful to have been granted the opportunity to take part in such an enriching programme. I definitely returned to Northern Ireland a different girl—more confident, more independent, more adventurous, and hopefully speaking better German than before I went! (Although Miss Ferguson would be the better judge of that.) Danke schön UK-German Connection! Es war die beste Zeit meines Lebens
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Last modified: October 13, 2025
