Teachers Exchange Programme, Helmholtzschule, Frankfurt, Germany - Mr Bell, West Kirby Grammar School

In June 2014, I was given the opportunity to visit Helmholtzschule in Frankfurt, Germany. Helmholtzschuleis “ein Gymnasium” which is similar to a British Grammar School in that it is academically focused although it does not have an entrance exam. There are some similarities to my own school, West Kirby Grammar School and it was established 1 year earlier than WKGS, in 1912.

Our journey was delayed slightly due to industrial action by French air-traffic controllers, but we were all in good spirits when I along with three students, Molly Brewster, Olivia Dool and Aisling Power, arrived at Frankfurt airport at about 9pm German time to be met by Herr Münch, the Comenius coordinator for Helmholtzschule. Herr Michael, a Maths and IT teacher with whom I have worked with on this website very kindly let me stay in his flat for the duration of the visit.

On Wednesday morning we went to Helmholtzschule and I met Herr Ulmke, the German headteacher who warmly welcomed me and we talked about the two schools. Like most German schools, students do not wear uniform and teachers do not wear suits.

Later, the German Comenius students tools us on a tour of Frankfurt, including its shops and a visit to the top of the Main Tower, a 200 metre, 56-storey building which is the fourth tallest building both in Frankfurt and Germany. In fact, the top ten tallest buildings in Germany are all in Frankfurt, leading to the local nickname, Frankfurt-am-Mainhatten after the New York borough.

During my time in Helmholtzschule I had the opportunity to observe a number of lessons. In a Physics lesson, the class were going through a test with students taking turns to present solutions to the rest of class.

The Maths lesson was for the Abitur - the German equivalent of A Levels and was on the topic of 3-D vectors. The West Kirby students were in on this lesson too. Two of them are currently studying maths and will be doing this topic next year.

I also got to see an English lesson for 10-11 year-olds. They were a lovely, enthusiastic class, many of whom already had an impressive English vocabulary. Another maths lesson showed the derivation of an area formula using a technique I intend to “borrow” for my own lessons!

I also had the opportunity to sample German hospitality including a barbeque to celebrate Herr Münch’s birthday and another meal where Herr Michael introduced me to the local delicacy, the “Grüne Sauce” or Green Sauce!

All in all, my visit was a fantastic experience which I enjoyed thoroughly. Our hosts, both teachers and students looked after us very well and I know the West Kirby students also had a great time.

Mr R Bell, June 2014