Whenever people talk about the UK it is associated with pale, tea drinking people who admire the
Royals and who always carry an umbrella.
However, after a long stay in the country I can tell that the island offers much more than those
prejudices which cannot even be proved.
I took part in an exchange term in year 10.1. I stayed with a young couple that is close friends with
my parents and lives in Huddersfield, a town between Manchester and Leeds. The term lasted four
months and I visited form 10P at Heckmondwike Grammar School during that time.
I decided to go on an adventure like this because I have always been really curious about getting to
know another culture as well as I wanted to improve my English skills.
When I first arrived in the UK, I was really nervous. Nonetheless, I immediately met some nice girls
who helped me to settle in quickly and who showed me around at school.
School started at 8:30 in the morning with different assemblies and ended at 3:35 in the afternoon. I
had lunch at school and joined the school´s football team. During my stay I got to know some odd
subjects, I had never heard of before, for example wood materials, food technology, graphics and
textiles. Although I did really bad in graphics, I think it is important to teach subjects like this also at
German schools as they deepen technical skills. Moreover, I had to wear a school uniform which
included a tie. Apart from the sixth formers (similar to Oberstufenschüler) everyone had to wear one.
I spent my free time visiting a couple of England´s beautiful cities such as Oxford and London and I
was introduced to British culture and tradition including, for example, Bonfire Night.
I do not want to conceal the difficulties of my stay, for example the difficulty to see my friends at the
weekends due to limited public transport, added to that I could not choose my subjects and had to
do art, even though I do not like it at all.
Year 10.1 was a good point to go abroad as the content I missed at school was not too difficult to
revise as well as I did not want to miss my first term in year eleven due to its importance for my
graduation. Nonetheless I could have imagined to stay even longer than four months and I am sure
that it would not have influenced my marks or development in a negative way.
However, I am convinced that my stay was an unforgettable experience especially because I made
many new friends and due to their open-minded attitude we could exchange cultural values and
habits. Furthermore, this journey taught me to become more independent and confident in front of
strangers.
I would always recommend an exchange year as it is a great opportunity to experience another
culture properly as well as to get another perspective.
Katharina Hentsch MSS 12
