GERMAN A LEVEL & AS LEVEL COURSES
German A Level & AS Level Courses
German the most widely spoken native language in Europe and is the language of some of the greatest musicians, poets, philosophers and scientists. The German language is also very closely related to English, with both languages sharing the same Germanic root. Our students continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of the German language, broadening their vocabulary range, grammatical competence and oral fluency, and also explore the rich culture and political history of German-speaking countries.
Course outline
Aspects of German-speaking society
- The changing state of the family (Familie im Wandel)
- The digital world (Die digitale Welt)
- Youth culture: fashion and trends, music, television (Jugendkultur: Mode, Musik und Fernsehen)
Multiculturalism in German-speaking society
- Immigration (Einwanderung)
- Integration (Integration)
- Racism (Rassismus)
Artistic culture in the German-speaking world
- Festivals and traditions (Feste und Traditionen)
- Art and architecture (Kunst und Architektur)
- Cultural life in Berlin, past and present (Das Berliner Kulturleben damals und heute)
Aspects of political life in the German-speaking world
- Germany and the European Union (Deutschland und die Europaïsche Union)
- Politics and youth (Die Politik und die Jugend)
- German re-unification and its consequences (Die Wiedervereinigung und ihre Folgen)
Assesment
AS Level German
Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing
- Assessment of grammar and content across themes 1 and 3
- 90 marks
- 1 hour 45 minutes written paper
- 45% of total AS level
Paper 2: Writing
- Assessment of grammar and one text or one film
- 50 marks
- 1 hour 30 minutes written paper
- 25% of total AS level
Speaking
- Assessment of one sub-theme from theme 1 and one sub-theme from theme 3
- 60 marks
- Oral exam between 12 and 14 minutes
- Internally conducted and externally assessed
- 30% of total AS level
A Level German
Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing
- Assessment of grammar and content across all four themes
- 100 marks
- 2 hours 30 minutes written paper
- 50% of total A level
Paper 2: Writing
- Assessment of grammar and two texts or one text and one film
- 80 marks
- 2 hours written paper
- 20% of total A level
Speaking
- Individual research project on one of the four themes
- 60 marks
- Oral exam between 21 and 23 minutes
- Internally conducted and externally assessed
- 30% of total A level
Set Texts
Texts
- Heinrich Böll, Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum
- Bertolt Brecht, Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Der Besuch der alten Dame
- Max Frisch, Andorra
- Heinrich Heine, Gedichte – Buch der Lieder
- Jana Hensel, Zonenkinder
- Franz Kafka, Die Verwandlung
- Wladimir Kaminer, Russendisko
- Siegfried Lenz, Fundbüro
- Bernhard Schlink, Der Vorleser
Films
- Good bye, Lenin!, Wolfgang Becker (2003)
- Das Leben der Anderen, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006)
- Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei, Hans Weingartner (2005)
- Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland, Yasemin Samdereli (2011)
- Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage, Marc Rothemund (2005)
- Lola rennt, Tom Tykwer (1998)
Specification
Teachers will choose the examination board for students joining in Year 12 based on their expertise and specialist knowledge. For Year 13 and retake students, teachers will continue students’ studies with AQA, Edexcel/Pearson, OCR or WJEC/Eduqas. Please note that we do not offer CIE but can more than map to one of the boards listed.
Teachers
Jason Poon
BA (UCL), PGCE (Institute of Education, London)
BA (UCL), PGCE (Institute of Education, London)
News
Exceptional University Destinations 2024
Our students are going on to do remarkable things! Each year the vast majority of our A level leavers take up places at the top universities and our 2024 students have really topped the bill. The combination of fantastic A level results and the best UCAS...
Latest News
Review of The Tempest starring Sigourney WeaverJanuary 22, 2025
Careers in Academia: Dr Jeanne WolstencroftDecember 11, 2024
WT Exceeds Expectations by ISI InspectionDecember 6, 2024
Talk Consent Deliver Workshop to StudentsDecember 4, 2024
Karishma and Charlie in ATP Today MagazineNovember 11, 2024