A Highschool in the UK

In the course of our study week, we had the chance to visit the George Stephenson Highschool in Killingworth.

https://www.gshs.org.uk/

These are the major differences we noticed between this high school (representing UK high schools) and high schools we know from Germany:

1.) Pupils wear school uniforms.

(The learning atmosphere seems to be more formal as a result of these uniforms and the pupils cannot be judged based on their clothes.)

2.) Teachers have their own classrooms which means that the pupils go to the teachers' classrooms for their lessons and not the other way round.

(As a result, teachers have the opportunity to be creative and decorate their classrooms with subject related material that may support the students's learning processes and create a better learning atmosphere.)

3.) The George Stephenson High School has a strict curriculum that has to be followed by all teachers. Lesson plans are available online and can be accessed by every teacher.

(As a result, the individual teacher does not have to create lesson plans which is very time consuming. Nevertheless, the individual teacher has the freedom to adapt the respective lesson to the needs of the class and to change aspects that seem to be inappropriate for the specific context. In addition, every pupil is confonted with the same lesson structure and the same contents which allows for more comparability.)

The school building is welcoming and the walls are decorated with creative artwork from the pupils, photos, information about past and upcoming events and with information about the school philosophy as is illustrated by the photo above.

These decorations contribute to the "exceptionally productive climate for learning that pervades the school" (quotation to be found on one of the walls inside the building).

Above that, a number of inspiring quotations can be found on the walls inside.

My favourite quotation in relation to languag teaching that I found on a wall in the language department is the following:

"If you can talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."

(Nelson Mandela)

I like this quotation since it describes the significance of language learning and it underlines the legitimacy of the language variety we find in this world. Although English becomes more and more significant and it serves as lingua franca for good reasons, the significance of all the other languages should be respected. Languages are always bound to a culture and only with a sufficient language proficiency level in a certain language, we have access to the respective culture. This may help students realize why it makes sense to make an effort to learn languages.

To sum it up, visiting George Stephenson High School was a great opportunity to get in contact with a school in the UK. Learning about their system and comparing it to our own system is very helpful for reflections and may lead to propositions for improving or adapting our own system. In my opinion, the transnational collaboration should be supported in this area since discussing experiences that are made in other countries may be helpful for similar contexts in our environment and it would be enriching both sides.