German Exchange Trip to Hildesheim

Last week 49 of our Year 8 and Year 9 students took part in the German Exchange trip to Hildesheim, Germany. After our lengthy coach journey, we used the time on Friday evening to use all the facilities in the "Jugendherberge" (Youth hostel). The students played football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and braved the see-saw. On Saturday we ventured into town and discovered the sights (including the "Glockenspiel" on the "Rathaus") with a treasure hunt before setting of to the "Sommerrodelbahn" (Toboggan) in Bodenwerder. Our brave students had multiple rides - often without using the brakes to get to full speed! We finished Saturday evening with a talent show before an international football match against a German Firefighter Team. (We won 1:0 - just saying!)

On Sunday we traveled to another highlight of the trip - the Heidepark Soltau - an amazing theme park about an hour's drive away from the hostel. To say the rides were "Colossal" is an understatement.

We spent our last day in Germany traveling to the town of the "Pied Piper" Hameln by train and meeting our German partners at the Schiller Gymnasium, our partner school of over 30 years. Our students were showed around the school, took part in a joint quiz and attended afternoon lessons. in the afternoon, they explored the town with their new German friends, including the shopping facilities and some fast food outlets, before finishing the evening with a farewell party at the school.

Thank you to all of our students for being amazing representatives of Sheldon School and for displaying all of our Sheldon Values on the trip. We'd also like to thank our MFL staff for organising this wonderful opportunity for a language and cultural exchange for our students learning German. We are already looking forward to seeing our German friends again on their return visit in October 2026.