Europa School UK was delighted and honoured to welcome the German Ambassador, Miguel Berger, and the Head of Culture and Education, Dr Frane, from the German Embassy in London. They were received very warmly by Mrs Woods and Mr Marechau before being taken on a tour of the school by Dr Havenstein, Europa School’s PASCH co-ordinator. This included visits to Primary classrooms where our younger pupils shone in performances of song and rhyme. RDE sang Die Jahresuhr beautifully, while 1DE recited the rhyme Wir with enthusiasm. 3DE gave a very musical rendition of Alle Vögel sind schon da.The classrooms displayed lovely buntings of the German flag drawn by children of all language streams. Then our panel of secondary students impressed with presentations on aspects of school life and with their ability to showcase our immersive language stream model. Sophia Brent and Sofie Uhlig spoke eloquently on life in Primary, giving a vivid account of all the national festivals and festivities celebrated across the language streams, bearing witness to our multicultural nature. Joshua Brent followed by talking expertly about his fascinating application process for work placements while Alexander Shaw impressed with his MYP project and German cuisine. Malaika Adlung spoke on the vital issue of language learning with great acumen and finally Daniel Burkert-Burrows entertained us with a moving song which he himself accompanied on the guitar. The Ambassador and Dr Frane then joined invited parents, staff and governors in the Chapel where Sofie, Hannah and Friederike Uhilg accompanied by Sue Glaisher gave a flawless and enchanting performance of Stabat Mater from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater Dolorosa. The Ambassador’s visit ended with informal conversations with the school community over tea and coffee. Europa UK has truly been inspired by Ambassador Berger’s and Dr Frane’s visit and are hoping to welcome them again.
Dr Daniela Havenstein
Photos – Ben Hutchings