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"Congratulations to the Association on its 50th Birthday. I wish the new Website great success and I hope especially that it will stimulate interest in the Association's work, and thereby increase contacts between individuals of our two countries."
HRH The Duke of Kent, Royal Patron
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Newsletter
We are developing a new Newsletter which will be circulated in electronic form. If you would like to contribute, post your events or would like to subscribe to it,
please watch this space!
For contributions, suggestions or comments please contact
Additionally, you have access to an electronic version of our "fomer" newsletter the "Zeitgeist" (PDF); just click here for the latest edition ...
Click here for the July Issue
50th AGM of the BGA
The 50th AGM of the British German Association was held in London last night - 3 July 2008. It was attended by members from across the UK, including a number of new members attending for the very first time. Stephen Watson, the BGA's chairman, reported on the past year and talked about the Association's plans for 2008/2009. The audited accounts for the year ending 2007 were approved by the meeting. The Officers and Executive were elected to serve another year.
After the AGM, Stephen Watson said, 'This was a good AGM and an opportunity to discuss with members our plans for the year ahead. The BGA has had a solid year and we are excited about some of the events now being organised for later this year and 2009. It is also good to welcome new members and we certainly hope to grow the BGA going forward.'
Cheque Giving at the Royal Latin School
On the 26th June, Jacqueline Jardine from the Volkswagen Group UK presented a Cheque to Robert Cooper, Headmaster of the Royal Latin School. During the Annual Prize Giving Evening Volkswagen agreed to become the Youthbridge partner for the Royal Latin School.
The Picture shows (from left to right):
Mr Robert Cooper (RLS), Ms Jacqueline Jardine (Volkswagen), Mrs Stephanie von Both (RLS) and Mr Philipp von Both (BGA/Youthbridge)
Youthbridge Calendar 2009
The Youthbridge calendar 2009 is taking shape. Now we need your help to raise funds. Corporations can sponsor a page for £500 and individuals can have their name added for £50.
For more information please see the attached information.
Please support this charitable venture!
Follow this link for more information: Youthbridge Calendar Information
The Youthbridge Awards (Southern Schools)
The Youthbridge Award For excellence in German for the three best Pre-GCSE students of our Youthbridge Schools
Held on 25th June 2008, at 2.15pm, at the Goethe-Institut London
The Awards were presented by Darius Rahimi, Cultural Attaché at the German Embassy, London
The Awards went to:
All Hallows Catholic School, Farnham:
Joint 1st Sam Mouat and Naomi Smith, 2nd Helen
Holdich, 3rd Isobel Simpson.
Beaumont School, St Albans:
1st Elliott Andrews, 2nd Elizabeth Worswick, 3rd
Mariam Samirova.
Denbigh School, Milton-Keynes:
1st Emile El-Qawas, 2nd Philip Holliday, 3rd Kirsty
Timmins.
Dr Challoner's Grammar School for Boys, Amersham:
1st Will Thornton, 2nd Matt Smith, 3rd Tom
Ayling.
Fernhill School & Language College, Farnborough:
1st Matthew Fearnley, 2nd Kathryn Williams, 3rd
Kristina Dimitrova, and from last year: 1st Romy Mellish, 2nd Josh Willis, 3rd Katherine Bradshaw.
Fortismere School, North London:
1st Maddie Woodfield, 2nd Daniel El-Gamry, 3rd Charlotte Kaye.
Homewood School and Sixth Form College, Tenterden:
1st Kirsty Wigg, 2nd Jemma Thripp, 3rd Charlotte Small. Ilford County High School, Ilford:
1st James Rowland, 2nd Ajanthan Uthayakumar, 3rd Shiraz Jamshaid.
Sir William Borlase Grammar School, Marlow:
1st Joanna Taylor, 2nd Francesca Pickford, 3rd Annabel Dolphin.
The Royal Latin School, Buckingham:
1st Molly Aubrey, 2nd Neil Adams, 3rd Adam Hitchen.
Thomas Lord Audley School & Language Centre, Colchester:
1st Chelsea Broadley, 2nd Kate Mills, 3rd Ben Cirne. Tiffin Grammar School for Boys, Kingston-upon-Thames:
1st James Temple, 2nd Savva Theocharous, 3rd Jack Claydon.
New Schools:
Uxbridge High School:
joint 1st Shabina Mirza and Nagina Satschdeva.
St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury:
1st Holly Titford, 2nd Katie Collins, 3rd Joseph Gregson.
Four Junior Prizes went to Leehurst Swan School, Salisbury:
Christopher Birkbeck in year 3, Bradley Commons in year 4, Alexander Larson in year 5 and Andrew Rothwell in year 6. (the school was not present)
The Youthbridge Award (Northern Schools)
The Youthbridge Awardf or excellence in German for the three best Pre-GCSE students of our Youthbridge Schools
Held on 24th June 2008, at 2.15pm, at the Friesland School in Nottingham
The awards were presented by Mrs Margaret Steinitz, artistic director of the London Bach Society and went to:
All Saints Roman Catholic School, York:
1st Helen Caley, 2nd Felicity Swallow, 3rd Chloe Browne.
Congleton High School, Congleton:
1st Nikki Chand, 2nd Alexander Machin, 3rd Charlotte Furnell.
Fernwood School, Nottingham:
1st Daniel Brook, 2nd Jade Turton, 3rd Holly Liddle. Friesland School, Nottingham:
1st Daisy Ogle, 2nd Samantha Cauldwell, 3rd Emma Thompson.
King Edward VI School, Lichfield:
1st Charlotte Bull, 2nd David Baker, 3rd Hannah Maunder, Samuel Speight received The Bach Award.
Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School, Lincoln:
Rachel Jones, Alice Nutting, Luuk Earl (all three equal awards).
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington:
1st Gary Lodge, 2nd Katie Lamb, 3rd Caroline Baker.
Seaham School of Technology, Seaham:
1st Christopher Seymour, 2nd Chantelle Oxley, 3rd Kayleigh Butterfield.
Prince Henry's High School, Evesham:
Paris Davies, Bethan Jones. (not all schools were present)
The Bach Award 2008
Initiated and supported by The London Bach Society for students of German and Music went to Samuel Speight
of King Edward VI School, Lichfield The London Bach Society gives the Bach Award annually to a Youthbridge student for progress in German and Music Studies. Music
is an international language to be shared and enjoyed by us all and one of the Society’s current priorities is to create opportunity for young people to know and love the music of Bach, Germany’s greatest composer. We are delighted to give the Bach Award to encourage a young
linguist/musician to go forward with their studies.
BGA Parliamentary Day 2008
The BGA hosted its annual Parliamentary Day at the Palace of Westminster on 9th June. The Shadow Secretary of State of Defence, Dr Liam Fox MP, was the guest of honour. Dr Fox spoke about the need for more cooperation from NATO allies in the campaign in Afghanistan and talked about the growing threat of international terrorism. The event was sold out and attended by many BGA members from across the country. Also in attendance were representatives from the German Embassy in London and the former Chief of Defence Staff, Field Marshall Lord Inge.
Next year's Parliamentary Day will be held in June 2009.
Photo caption: From left to right
Michael Withers, BGA Bristol; Dr Liam Fox MP, Shadow Defence Secretary; Stephen Watson, BGA Chairman; Field Marshall Lord Inge; Lord Watson, BGA
President
New Youthbridge School
Prince Henry’s High School in Evesham in Worcestershire joined Youthbridge with a Cheque Presentation on the 5th June 2008.
Ute Wegener, Chairman of Youthbridge hands over a cheque for £1,500 to The Headteacher, Mr Bernard Roberts.
The Sponsor is Roger Wolf of Holbein Capital GmbH, Freital in Germany.
Tiffin Grammar School Cheque Giving Ceremony
On the 16th May, Dr Ulrich Hoppe, Director General of the German-British Chamber of Commerce & Industry presented a cheque for £1,500 for German studies at the Tiffin Grammar School for boys in Kingston-upon-Thames to Mr Sean Heslop, Headteacher.
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington wins Awards for writing about Germany
A Level German students entered essays for the Independent-Bosch Technology Horizon Award 2008. The competition is organised by the British-German Association Youthbridge section and the essay title was: ‘How is technology and engineering driving change in Germany?
Four students - Lucy Guille, Amy McDonald, Katie Graham, Caroline Baker - were awarded £50 cheques for their efforts and their submissions will now go forward to the next round of the competition which is short listing at the end of May. From this, the best essays will win further prizes with the winning entry being awarded £700 and being published in the education section of the Independent.
Penny Porter, Head of German said:
"I am absolutely delighted that four of our students won £50 each for their entries in the Technology Horizons Award. They are all very keen students who enjoy studying German and learning about life in Germany. It is wonderful that their work has been recognised in such a way and we are keeping our fingers crossed that at least one of them will win one of the bigger prizes. I was also pleased to hear that I had won a Bosch Power Tool for encouraging the students to get involved.”
Student Amy McDonald added:
“It was interesting researching and writing the essay and I really hope I will have my work published. My success has encouraged me to get involved in other competitions like this in the future.”
Cheque Giving Ceremony at Congleton School, Cheshire
Vesta Coulson, PA to the Managing Director at Siemens Congleton, who are sponsoring the school with
£1,500 annually, said: “The Youthbridge initiative with Congleton High School is an excellent scheme which
will greatly enhance the learning experiences of many local students. Through Siemens Generation 21 we
are keen to support innovative educational initiatives in line with our corporate social responsibilities”.
Youthbridge Competition for years 5 to 10
Youthbridge invites all Youthbridge school students to describe in German how they celebrate either Easter, Halloween or Christmas.
There are a multitude of prizes available.
Follow this link for more information: Competition Details
Youthbridge Calendar 2009 competition
Youthbridge invites all students from Youthbridge Schools to participate in this competition. The winning entries will not only be in the 2009 Youthbridge calendar but will also win £95 each.
So sharpen your pencils and get drawing or painting.
Follow this link for more information: Details for the Competition
Downloadable documents
You can right click on the document titles below to download it or click on it to view it.