On Thursday 7th July, 32 girls from Years 9 and 10 joined three other local schools at the ‘Think German Wales – Schools’ Conference’ at the School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University. The conference was designed to give students an opportunity to use their German outside the classroom and to engage in cultural and historical activities. Workshops and lectures tackled a range of stimulating issues such as the portrayal of racism through German film, the treatment of Jews and Germans in mixed race marriages following ‘The Rosenstraße protest’ of 1943 in Berlin, German and the World of Business and the year abroad option at university. The conference also tied in with the current WW1 exhibition ‘War’s Hell! The Battle of Mametz Wood in Art’ at the National Museum of Wales, which the students visited in the afternoon. This was followed by a fascinating lecture by Prof David Jackson looking at postcards sent home from the front by German soldiers during WW1. There were some lighter-hearted moments as well, with a look at German football and the Bundesliga, and a quiz tying together information the students had learned during the day and their general knowledge of German trivia. It was a very informative day and the students benefited from the range of speakers and workshops available.
