Paul Roos Gymnasium learner Nicholas Smit won the Grade 10 Deutschlehrerverband (DLV) German Olympiad last year and will be travelling to Germany next year.
The olympiad is held in September and October every year, specifically for Grade 10 learners who take German as a subject. The DLV is run by German teachers.
A total of 39 learners enter and participated last year, with Nicolas winning the olympiad with an excellent mark of 98%.
The National German Olympiad for South African Schools is held at various centres countrywide, including Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Vryheid, Hermannsburg, Bethlehem and Cape Town. The exam comprises four parts: listening comprehension; reading comprehension; language modules; and written expression.
A team of teachers prepare the exam and the moderation is carried out by an independent specialist. The correction is made by two separate specialists to ensure comprehensible results.
Topics to be prepared by the participants for the exam included friends, family, home, free time, hobbies, food and drink, festivals, school and the weather.
In addition to the achievement of Nicolas, two other PRG German learners, Sebastian Claassen and Christian de Villiers, received full bursaries from the Goethe Institute to attend a course in Goslar, Germany. Learners aged 16 to 18 with German as a subject can apply by writing a motivational letter followed by an online test conducted by the Goethe Institute.
Sebastian and Christian achieved a B1 level qualification result. The Grade 11 learners will leave for Germany on Saturday 2 July and return on Sunday 24 July.
PRG has been appointed a PASCH-Schule since 2008, with the school’s German learners participating in numerous PASCH projects.
The summer camps, where learners spend time in Germany during the German summer, are particularly popular. PRG also has an exchange programme where the school works closely with a school in Poland and organises annual trips. The Goethe Institute enables learners to write certificates on A1, A2 and B1 levels. The boys can use this certificate to study in Germany or include it as a valuable addition to their CVs.
Moreover, the Goethe Institute has gifted the school’s German learners laptops and iPads, which they can use for educational purposes in the classroom.
