German school in London

[concernedandworried]

Hi,
Does anyone have any info on the German school in London? I have a few concerns re switching from U.K. system:

• our kids ages 7 and 8 don’t speak much German, hardly any in fact. I’m worried that the transition will be very difficult for them, and that struggling with the language will knock their self esteem. Even if they should be ahead of their peers academically as they’ve already been at school for nearly three and five year respectively, not speaking German will surely have them at the bottom of their new class
• if we ever wanted to change back into the English school system, for example at 11 or 13 for boarding school, I’m guessing this would be tricky as they don’t prepare for the common entrance exam. Even things such as the absence of typical boarding school sports might be an issue
• what homework help is available? I don’t speak any German and my husband works late hours and isn’t around to help out, so what would we do if they need help? We have never been able to find a German speaking nanny or babysitter so I imagine we would struggle finding antone to help
• I also worry about being out of the loop. Not speaking German, I’d struggle with not being fully on top of how they are doing academically.

Any thoughts or advice would be highly appreciated!

I don’t understand why you’d send your kids to a German speaking school in that case to be honest?Is your DH German? Can you employ a tutor to help with German? If they need homework help, what will you do?

There are no GCSEs equivalents in the German system, so I dont know what english universities would base their offers on, or whether dc would need to take a gap year. The Abitur requires all subjects, I.e., German, foreign language, maths, 3 sciences, history, geography, government, art, PE and RE, to be continued until the end. Every subject counts toward the final grade, although some subjects are heavier weighted than others, allowing for some personal options of preference. So it would only really suit an All rounder. English universities would equate AAA with an 1.0 to 1.2, ( roughly an average of 14 points), or an A ( German: 1 or 15 to 13 points) in every single subject, including pe and art practicals. On the other hand, if your dcs are planning to go to university in Germany, taking the Abitur would be best as A levels are not fully accepted for all university courses.
I don't know how the London German school supports language difficulties and homework etc. In my experience German schools are more hands off than English schools, but you would have to ask the school whether they can offer help. You might find a tutor among the older pupils or families at the school.

Have you been offered places?

The German school in London really is what it says on the box - a German school for German speakers. It is subsidised by the German government - hence the low fees. Most communications are in German, so are parents evenings and the parent body is predominantly German speaking. I know children from bilingual families - usually German father, non German speaking mother - who have had a hard time there because they have struggled with German from the start. The non German speaking mothers can also sometimes feel like outsiders. It’s not like an international school where there is a lot of support for non native speakers. Will you be able to support them with the homework?

I am not quite clear what your motivation is for sending them to a German medium school. Are you planning to relocate to a German speaking country? Is it for cultural reasons? If so it might be worth the inevitable pain your DC will experience.

But if you are thinking of moving your DC back to the UK system at 11 or 13 I think you would be better off going to a local primary or prep and perhaps organising extra curricular language lessons or getting a German speaking au pair if you just want them to have another language. Also don’t think that because German children have not had formal schooling from aged 5 that they are necessarily behind British children who have. They will have been in kindergarten and covered many of the KS1 curriculum there. It’s just less formal.

If you are looking at the DSL long term I think you need to consider where your DC are likely to end up at University level. Is there really any advantage in doing a German Abitur qualification? It’s quite rigid compared with A levels and IB - hence the large number of German families sending their DC to UK boarding schools.

From the website

Wesentliche Voraussetzung für die Aufnahme von Kindern in die Grundschule der DSL ist, dass sie Kenntnisse in der deutschen Sprache haben. Eltern müssen den deutschen Sprachgebrauch aktiv unterstützen.

Apart from the school's own language requirements for parents - which it sounds like you don't meet - what about having a German au pair? Or getting a senior school pupil to help (paid) with homework?

To be honest, and I say this as someone with kids in a bilingual school, where they're learning in a language I'm not fluent in (their father's), unless you're planning on moving there or spending entire summer holidays (and others) there, I don't see the point. If they speak German at home with their father, and maybe with a Saturday school or au pair and do GCSEs then they can go to Germany for a year after school and get fluent. If it's for uni there they can study and work there for a gap year then apply (Germans go a year later anyway).

I think that unless you're actually moving there, in which case you need to take lessons too, you're making this unnecessarily complicated.

Thank you very much. I appreciate the input.

To clarify, my husband is German and very keen on our children being fluent in German. The German school is also cheaper than our current school, which is an important consideration for us.

I’m less than keen on the idea though, for all the reasons you have highlighted above. Thank you NellyBarney for clarifying the difference between A levels and the Abitur. I have always felt that the DSL is best for those who see a future in Germany and this confirms it for me. I feel we are too late in the game to successfully make this change now, the children should have learnt German from day one of this were to have been a feasible option.

I agree that I would be entirely out of the loop when it comes to the children’s education, which is not my ideal scenario. It is also unclear how we would be able to support the children with their homework given that my husband is not home before bedtime.

Keep looking for a German speaking au pair or nanny? Go on websites which offer childcare services. Not sure of the rules so won't put a link here, but there are German speaking au pairs in the UK looking for work. Also you could learn German yourself. Basics can be picked up for free with certain apps which is a start.

I've no idea about the German school, but the ethos of German education is very different to the UK. You can still have bilingual children if you find a way. I'm actually the daughter of a German DM & I'm only now learning the language & I'm getting on a bit!

You may want to consider a „Granny au pair“ instead. Quite a few of my colleagues working abroad and married to a non-German spouse or who are single parents have gone this route. You may find that there is more Information available in German though.

We are a German household and decided against sending DD to the German School.

We only speak German at home ans while DD replies in English her German is actually quite good but it needs permanent input. So we read lots of German books and she watches DVDs and listen to Audiobooks.

But the main advantage comes from 1-2 weeks constant exposure during the holidays. While we also go somewhere else we often go for our main holiday to Germany and do farm stay or similar so she needs to speak German to have playmates. She will go this year for the second time on her own for a week on a riding stable holiday.

I would suggest you have a look for German Saturday schools, they are not that many but it may be worth going if German is the lesser used language at home. It would also be helpful if you could learn German to enable German becoming more frequent at home, friends did this to the extent that the non-native speaking parent is now fluent.

Interestingly I was talking to a German friend about this at the weekend. We were saying it is interesting that the English system (and the German system in Germany) must accommodate non native speakers, but the German and French schools in London clearly don't want outsiders. I considered it for my son years ago because I would have liked him to learn German well but gave up on the idea. I speak fluent German so that aspect would have been ok but he only had a smattering of German at the time.

There are (or used to be) Saturday schools in St Albans and Woking - are they any use to you?

As a pp said, immersion in Germany in the summer and other hols is probably the way to go.

Satsumaeater - the reason is that these schools are used by expats who are in the UK for a handful of years and these schools help the children staying in the respective system.

You have similar set ups in lots of countries or children with parents who move a lot go and stay in an international school system. I have colleagues who as children went to German schools in a variety of countries and most had a huge fluctuation in classmates as these children move a Lot.

My Ex Boss, a German, looked into the German school as they knew they would move back soon after his son started school and they didn’t want a huge disruption. In the end they moved back earlier but for him it was vital to have access to a German curriculum.

OP - not sure where you live but I think there is. Bi-lingual German school near Dulwich, a normal state school. Depending on your plans something like this may be another route to explore.

@Satsumaeater

The German School in London is funded by the German government. It is not a UK independent school. The fees paid reflect the huge German government subsidy. There is no incentive for the German taxpayer to fund a low cost, German medium education for Brits - and most German families attending are unenthusiastic about the prospect of their DCs learning being held back by non native speakers.

UK private schools charge much higher fees. Some will accept students with little or no English. But those tend to be the ones whoch would otherwise have problems filling their boarding places. And the parents then pay extra for one to one English lessons. Over subscribed schools insist on near native proficiency at 13 and the overseas students who attend usually come from English language medium schools abroad.

The UK state system takes all comers. The German state system can be distinctly less welcoming to those without fluent German. Little or no chance of a gymnasium place in those states with a three tier system however clever the student - and many will end up in „Integration“ schools - with no prospect of an academic future.

williteverend,

The Lycee Francais CDG has this problem in spades. There lots of third generation Francophone, people with one French parent, of returning expats who put their DC into the French system when abroad etc. Indeed Madonna. It is seen as a cut-price private school. Indeed DD who knew lots of kids there, only knew one "proper-French".

Up until Brexit they cannot discriminate on nationality, possibly made harder by the fact CDG offers an "English stream" for A levels partly for those who were struggling with the French BAC, partly for those aiming for Engluish language tertiary education.

I assume the Germans, not facing the same levels of demand, are able to retain their core culture/purpose by being strict on language requirements.

The bilingual German school in Dulwich/Herne Hill is Judith Kerr. It’s currently undersubscribed although since it came out top in the Southwark primary league tables it probably won’t be for long.

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate all the advice and input. We are no nearer to making a definite decision but we'll get there in the end...