Germany
Hi, I'm Sascha, 17 years old and from Berlin, Germany. My first year in the Sixth Form at Blundell's is just about to finish and now I wonder how fast the last two terms went by!
Initially I came to this school only in order to improve my English and obviously to learn about a different nation, but I have settled in so well and made friends so fast that I actually don't want to give up being a Blundellian anymore! Hence me and my parents decided to send me here for the Upper Sixth as well, so I can do my full A-levels in Maths, History, Physics, Music and German. The TESOL lessons with Mr Trew came in very handy and helpful indeed preparing for my IELTS exams, and I always had the option to take further lessons if I had the feeling that I wasn’t prepared enough, although I found that I didn't really need them.
My boarding house Petergate has an amazing community and in fact I am glad I went into this house, since it has many full-boarders, so that even on leave-weekends there are loads of people to speak to and to do something with. My house master Mr Berrow often organises trips to nearby towns or BBQs in our garden, therefore it never gets boring here.
My expectations of an English private school like Blundell's were those of a very strict school system and not surprisingly I was right - in a positive way though: there might be difficult and stressful times, but at the end of the day it was always worth the effort.
School life is not just about my subjects, but also with regards to my activities and sports. For example I am involved in three orchestras, two choirs and I have even started playing the bass-guitar in addition to the cello. Furthermore, I hugely enjoy playing rugby, doing cross-country and athletics, since the sports facilities offer numerous options to get active.
The thing I appreciate the most about Blundell's is the atmosphere and the positive feeling after you have achieved something significant by working hard, since all your friends and teachers recognise your efforts and encourage you throughout the whole year. I have certainly made the most of my time here and I honestly don't regret one single day I have spent here.
Auf ein baldiges Wiedersehen in Blundell's!
* * *
Hi, guys! I’m Marcel or better known among the students as ‘Mr.
Ross’ - why? Better not to ask me! I’m 17 years old and I
came from Germany here to Blundell’s last September. 
I
joined for my A/S levels. I do really enjoy the friendly atmosphere here,
that’s why I came here.
The first weeks when I arrived here were a bit difficult, because I was not used to talking the whole day in English and the daily routine was very different to what I knew. Nevertheless, with the help of the English students, who are really nice, I settled in. Although I don’t have the opportunity to speak German very often, it isn’t a problem because my English improved fast at the beginning and with the help of the TESOL Department I am still improving it.
I’m
living in Petergate House and I really do like the atmosphere and relationship
between the students living there. All of the English students in Petergate
helped me a lot to settle in. Furthermore I made some new friends, too.
Mr. Berrow, the House Master, is a very helpful person and cares about
the students.
At the moment I’m studying Chemistry, Latin, Maths and Economics and I think everything is going well. If I have any problems I can go and see my teachers for help.
What was really new for me is that everybody is going to sports after school so I decided to do rugby and I do enjoy it. I played for the third team – it wasn’t as violent and crazy as I thought it was, in fact there’s quite a lot of tactics in it – if you do it properly!
What I’m planning for the future is that I stay another year here to do my ‘A2’ levels. I will return to Germany after that and I might join the police force or go to university and study Economics.
Bis bald!
Marcel
* * *
Hey! My name is Stephanie, I’m 16 years old and I’m from Germany. I came to Blundell’s last September to improve my English, to meet new people and especially to escape the German school system. I had to choose between four different schools, but it wasn’t a difficult decision at all. Blundell’s just felt right when I first came here to visit all the different schools. The people were friendly, the campus was beautiful and the teachers I met made me feel welcome.
The first few weeks were quite hard. It was completely new for me to be away from home for more than two weeks and to live together with all the others pupils and teachers. At the beginning I had a few problems with my English, but it became better and better every day. It was a great experience to sit in a class of only five people. But life at Blundell’s isn’t just school. Nearly every afternoon we have games or activities so that you never get bored. The fist term I did hockey, fencing, archery, fly fishing and I joined the CCF. It was the most remarkable experience I’ve had since I’ve been here. In the second term I played squash and did cooking. Also we had to run the Russell. It is a cross-county run where you have to run through mud, around cows and you have to climb over fences! It was fun but also really hard work. The last term I did swimming and I was lucky to be able to join the swimming team.
I enjoy the way of life at Blundell’s even though that I haven’t got much free time during the week. There is always something to do. We have many charity events, barbecues, pizza evenings and trips at the weekend.
Here at Blundell’s I became more independent and self-confident. Even when you’ve got a problem there are so many people that are happy to help you, for example our great housemistress and our matron. And also you get a lot of support from your friends here.
After the summer term I’m going back to Germany to finish school there, but I will never ever forget this year at Blundell’s. It has chanced my point of view of many things and I’m happy that I was able to have these experiences.