Students practise language skills during fairytale visit to Germany

FALLIBROOME Academy students climbed to the top of one of Cologne Cathedral’s famous twin spires during a tour of the region.

They also enjoyed a delicious visit to the Lindt Chocolate Museum before experiencing the thrills of Phantasialand Theme Park on the outskirts of the city.

Their second base at Cochem in the beautiful Mosel valley gave them the opportunity to visit the fairytale castle, which towers above the town, and to travel down the river Mosel by boat.

The pupils, aged 12-17, practised their language skills, ordering snacks, buying souvenirs and competing in a treasure hunt devised by trip organiser Claire Smith.

She said: “The pupils were a credit to the school.

“They embraced the differences in our cultures, sampling new foods and making new friends at the youth hostels where we stayed.”

Year 8 pupil Bethan Jordan, said: “Cochem was a very beautiful town with stunning architecture and a lot of history behind it.

“Before going to look around, Mrs Smith kindly bought us all ice creams but we were encouraged to order in German.”

Fellow year 8 pupil Max Karakostas said: “On the treasure hunt, we were required to talk to members of the German public using our skills we had learnt in lessons or from our handbooks.

“We think that doing the treasure hunt helped us to embrace the German culture more than just watching a video.

“It was an actionpacked trip and on the last night we congregated around the camp fire for the annual quiz.

“The winners received sweets and it was the perfect end to a fantastic trip.”