For the past three weeks, we have been happy to welcome a student from our partner school in Hameln, Germany at Alton Convent School. Simone is a Year 10 pupil who is keen to improve her English language skills and knowledge about British culture. She was kindly put up in the families of Caitlin, Olivia  and Emily . The three girls and her families deserve huge thanks for their hospitality. Simone attended lessons in various subjects and introduced herself to many German students. She was of great help in the German lessons for all GCSE and A-level students. Here, Simone writes about her stay in England:

On Thursday 19th June the First Form went on the annual day trip to Calais in France. We were all very excited as we got off the coach and onto the ferry. When we arrived in Calais we split up into our groups and enjoyed a walk around town learning about its history and culture. We had a relaxing lunch in the park, then went to the lace museum and admired all the exhibits. Our final task was to buy our tea in groups at the hypermarket to eat on the ferry. Our challenge was to buy the healthiest food possible and ask for things in French.

On 2nd June, Year 6 went to France. We all had a wonderful time going to lots of new places and had lots of new experiences.

During the week, we went to St Valery, an historic town at the mouth of the Somme, Amiens and its cathedral, Le Touquet, a French market town, a chocolate factory and a goat farm. We also did some water sports, such as kayaking and raft building. All these activities were great, but my favourite was the tour of Rue and the quiz about it. Château du Broutel, where we were staying was really nice and friendly.

Our trip to Hamelin was such fun! We spent a couple of days in May in the historic town of Hamelin in Germany to meet up with our German pen pals. For the past year we had been writing letters to our pen pals in Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium and now we were very excited to meet them for the first time. Our pen pals had chosen a nice ice cream parlour to “break the ice” and from there we went to explore the legend of the Pied Piper and followed the “rat trail” through the picturesque centre of Hamelin.

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

After wrestling with the tube barriers, wheelie bags, metro maps and passport control at Eurostar, the Lower Sixth eventually arrived at their hotel in Paris. All the hustle and bustle was soon forgotten once we took a boat ride along the river Seine. We sailed towards the Latin Quarter, gliding past the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay which stunned us into silence. Despite the rain and losing several personal items including many Metro tickets, Paris introduced us to a whole new world.

Enjoying such sights and witnessing the great art masterpieces from Monet and Picasso, viewing their work first hand allowed many to wonder at the context in which such art could be created. The majesty of the classical architecture experienced by visiting the Sacré Coeur and Notre Dame and its contrast with the futuristic, jigsaw design of the Centre Pompidou was also plain to see. Inevitably a visit to the Champs Elysees with its grand, luxurious gold plated stores was a must and only served to highlight the alternate world of the city’s backstreet emporiums. As a shopping capital it didn’t fail although many would agree perhaps their purses did.

Fourth and Fifth Form girls studying French were able to benefit from a day of French when they attended a conference in London recently. The lively French presenters kept the girls on their toes with a wide range of activities ranging from television adverts and sketches to finding out about "Notre ami, l'infinitif" - most of which required their participation in some way. All the girls agreed they had enjoyed the day and learnt something new

Upper Sixth French student Allison has been awarded a British Council fellowship to enable her to do research in France. She will spend two weeks in a Paris school researching the provision of education for autistic children after which she will write a report making a comparison with provision in England. She has been busy preparing for her visit by visiting a school in England, attending both the Labour and Conservative party conferences where the social aspects of autism were discussed and making contact with the National Autistic Society and the French Foundation Autisme.