Willkommen to St Andrews

The University of St Andrews welcomed school children from all over Scotland yesterday (Tuesday 14th June 2005), for its annual German recitation contest.

The Department of German launched the initiative in 2003 with the help of Scotland’s best-known German, the then national football team manager Berti Vogts.

It is part of a series of initiatives run by the Department to increase interest in the German language amongst Scottish school pupils. The competition aims to counter the decline in the study of foreign languages at secondary school level, following their removal from the post-14 compulsory core curriculum.

Schools from all over Scotland took part in The Annual German Competition for Schools in Scotland, competing for cash prizes of up to £100. Additional prizes included signed photos from golfing great, Bernhard Langer, tennis champion Boris Becker and supermodel Claudia Schiffer – all well known Germans.

The competition for ‘poetry, prose and role-play’ is aimed at pupils studying German at all levels. The afternoon event involved a series of readings, recitations and role-playing in which performers were judged on pronunciation, fluency, expressiveness, acting skills and originality.

The German Consul General and representatives from the Swiss Embassy and the Goethe Institute, who sponsor the event, awarded the winning prizes on the day. Schools which took part included Madras College, Hutchesons Grammar School Glasgow, Dunfermline High School and High School of Dundee.

For further information about the competition, please contact Annette Zimmermann at the Department of German, Telephone: 01334 463664 or 463656; email: [email protected]

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media On behalf of the University of St Andrews Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, mobile 07900 050103, or email [email protected] Ref: German comp pic call.doc View the latest University news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk