Initiative „Schulen: Partner der Zukunft“

The “Schools: Partners for the Future” (PASCH) initiative was launched in February 2008 by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. PASCH strengthens and creates a global network of more than 2,000 PASCH schools with particular ties to Germany. The Goethe-Institut supports around 600 PASCH schools in the national education systems of over 100 countries.

The initiative is coordinated by the Federal Foreign Office and implemented in cooperation with the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), the Goethe-Institut, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Educational Exchange Service of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The network of German schools abroad and schools offering the German Language Certificate is being strengthened. Furthermore, cooperation with schools is being stepped up with a view to anchoring German as a foreign language more firmly within national education systems. In addition, scholarships for pursuing a course of study in Germany and opportunities for school exchanges and twinning programmes are made available.

Goals of PASCH

The initiative is designed to arouse and sustain young people’s interest in and enthusiasm for modern-day Germany, German society and the German language. A global network of partner schools of the Federal Republic of Germany is being created; the schools become part of an international community of learners through shared activities and exchange. 

PASCH offers attractive training courses that help give pupils and teachers qualifications that will serve them well in the longer term, thereby building upon the skills that the young people will need to study in Germany and in their later professional lives. It additionally aims to establish lively and long-lasting ties to Germany and to encourage schools, teachers and pupils to share their thoughts and ideas openly with one another and to work together. Furthermore, PASCH is linked to other foreign cultural relations and educational policy initiatives such as the “Kulturweit” voluntary service.

Role and activities of the Goethe-Institut

The Goethe-Institut helps the more than 600 schools it supports to include or expand German teaching on their curricula. It offers teachers further training in pedagogical methods and language courses, and equips schools with modern multimedia-friendly teaching, learning and cultural studies materials. Within the framework of the initiative, the Goethe-Institut has additionally sent teaching experts out to assist the partner schools around the world. Youth programmes are run in Germany for pupils from participating schools, allowing them to improve their language proficiency, develop their intercultural skills and experience Germany and its culture at first hand.

PASCH-net, where the international PASCH community meets up online, connects roughly 2,000 schools and 600,000 PASCH pupils worldwide.

About PASCH

The website provides information about the participating institutions and their activities worldwide. An interactive world map provides an overview of the network of participating schools: each school can post a brief profile on the site. Some active participants present their projects and useful practical tips. PASCH-net also provides information about the international PASCH Youth Courses in Germany and about funding for school twinning.

Information about PASCH Initiative (in several languages)
World map
School profiles
Projects around the world
PASCH Youth Courses
School twinning

Learning material and interactive features

On PASCH-net, teachers and learners alike will find videos, audios and texts (available to all users free of charge) about current topics as well as ideas for teaching German as a foreign language and downloadable worksheets. To search for material for young German learners, you can filter by topic, level of language proficiency, format and test preparation.
Interactive features like the “comments” function included in all learning materials invite users to participate. PASCH-net also announces worldwide German language contests with attractive prizes for PASCH pupils. Teachers and pupils can “take over” PASCH-net’s Instagram channel and share content themselves there.

Learning material
Contests
PASCH-net on Instagram

PASCH-Global online newspaper by and for PASCH pupils

Young people from all over the world blog to one another in German on PASCH-Global. Their texts, photos, videos and audios provide glimpses of their lives and their thoughts about Germany. See below for information on how you can contribute to the blog.
 
Information about PASCH-Global and how to contribute

PASCH Learning Platform

The Moodle-based PASCH Learning Platform gives German teachers an opportunity to create virtual workspaces for teaching and/or taking part in online teacher training tutorials. Our online course “Moodle Tools for Teaching” explains how to use the PASCH Learning Platform for teaching or teacher training purposes.

Information about PASCH Learning Platform

Information about studying in Germany and for PASCH alumni

PASCH school graduates receive general information about studying in Germany, e.g. about available scholarships and PASCH programmes, and useful links, e.g. to the PASCH Alumni Platform. PASCH school graduates currently studying in Germany share their experiences here.

Information about studying in Germany
PASCH Alumni Platform

Registration and logging into PASCH-net

Most offers on our website are accessible to the general public. Only PASCH users who wish to post comments or take part in our contests or communities on PASCH-net or in our Learning Platform must sign up once and can subsequently log in with their e-mail address and password. Registered PASCH teachers can create registration codes needed for signing up for colleagues and pupils at their PASCH school.

FAQ about PASCH Initiative and registration

Newsletter and social media

Registered users can subscribe to our monthly PASCH Newsletter and/or Newsletter for Pupils after logging in under “My PASCH”. PASCH-net followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also regularly receive information and updates about PASCH-net.

My PASCH
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

info@pasch-net.de
www.pasch-net.de

The PASCH network encompasses more than 2,000 schools worldwide. The Goethe-Institut supports over 550 schools in the national education systems of over 100 countries. Within the framework of the "Schools: Partners for the Future“ initiative, these schools have included or expanded German teaching on their curricula. For the most part, German is offered as a second foreign language at the schools. The PASCH network additionally includes about 140 German schools abroad supported by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), 27 schools with a focus on German, as well as around 1,100 national schools which offer the German Language Certificate of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Tomlinscote School & Sixth Form College is one of twelve partner schools in the UK. Founded in 1970 as a comprehensive, co-educational school, Tomlinscote School & Sixth Form College in Frimley in Surrey has around 1600 pupils.

As a designated Language College, Tomlinscote School considers modern languages a basis for pupils’ carreer chances and aims to offer as wide a choice of languages as possible.

We were delighted to learn that German is offered as a first foreign language and that all students are expected to take at least one foreign language to GCSE examination.

The German Department at Tomlinscote School is currently working on increasing the take-up of German. To ensure that pupils receive an authentic impression of German-speaking countries, the school has joined various partnerships such as with the Robert Bosch Gymnasium in Wedlingen.

An intensive and constantly developing exchange programme benefits in particular pupils in Key Stages 3 and 5. Those in KS 5 are offered the option to do a one-week work experience in Germany.

Tomlinscote School already has some experience in Content and Language Integrated Learning Projects (CLIP). As a member of the “Schools, Partners for the Future” project the school hopes to play a part in further developing cross-curricular teaching in the UK.

Paisley Grammar School is a state school in the west of Scotland, founded in 1576. The school has approximately 1000 students aged 11-18.
The school offers a range of subjects and courses. Our students can take the traditional Higher Examinations, as well as the Modern Languages for Life and Work courses, where they have the opportunity to develop skills for life and work.

German is taught from grade seven, and is one of the foreign languages that students can later choose as a major. In two of the primary schools in Paisley, students begin to learn about German language and culture, where they work in small groups with a teacher, students from the main school or with a German Educational Trainee. Here at Paisley Grammar School we plan to set up more projects and initiatives with our primary school colleagues.

At our school we have various sports clubs, an eco-group, a choir group, a drama group and many other activities in which the students can participate. In the future, we also plan to organise trips abroad, as well as build more links with schools all over Europe.

Paisley Grammar School

Since June 2008 Bishopbriggs Academy has been the German Partnerschool in Scotland as part of the German government initiative “Schulen: Partner der Zukunft”. Bishopbriggs is a comprehensive secondary school near Glasgow. The school has 1.200 pupils and has moved in 2010 to a modern, well equipped and spacious new building.

Over the last years a great number of projects as well as educational and cultural events have made Bishopbriggs Academy a nationally acclaimed example of excellence (i.e.: Modern Languages Excellence Report 2011). This partnership project has had a significant impact with teaching colleagues, education authorities and elected political members at both a local and national level with responsibility for education. It has aided and positively influenced promoting the teaching and learning of German in Scottish education and increased the interest in German society.

1850 pupils visit the Farlingaye High School of which 600 learn German. 3 teachers teach German as a main subject  at the school. Excellent exam results and a broad selection of extracurricular activities enable pupils to develop both personally and academically.
The school takes an active part as a ‘Leading-Edge’ school in the development of innovations in the educational sector and trains new teachers as a ‘Teaching school’. Moreover, in co-operation with the Bergische Universität Wuppertal the school offers internships abroad for German teaching students.
The school has already been admitted into the digital network a while ago.  It is also very active in the ‘Think German’ network of the University of East Anglia and offers free teacher trainings for local German teachers as part of the EEG (East England German network) since 2015. A local German teacher has received the ‘German Teacher Award’ in 2016, a local annual award, organised by the German Embassy in London. Farlingaye High School perfectly blends into the network of partner schools in the United Kindgom.

A Language College since 2004, all students at The Grey Coat Hospital have the opportunity to learn two languages at KS3 and at least one language at KS4, with many offering at least two. We offer Latin ab initio from Year 10. Languages are popular and students are very successful: our entries and outcomes at both A-Level and GCSE consistently buck national trends. Our entries for German in particular are rising at GCSE and A-Level: students are embracing the subject and are excelling. In 2022, all our A-Level students achieved A* to C and 70% of them achieved A* to A compared to the national average of 58%.

We offer an extensive international visits and exchanges programme with one of the longest-standing German exchanges in the UK as well as an exchange between Westminster and Chiyoda in Tokyo. We also host undergraduate students from the University of Münster. Our enrichment offer is extremely diverse, ranging from French Literature reading group (Years 8 to 13), Russian club (KS3), the Languages Olympiad and German Fun Club (KS3). Home languages are highly valued within the school community and we have large numbers of students being entered for GCSE and A-Level in their own languages every year. As a centre of Languages excellence, we lead a network across the School’s United Westminster and Grey Coat Foundation and more widely across London in the London Network for Principled Communicative Language Practice in collaboration with IoE at UCL. We are delighted to become a beacon school for the PASCH initiative.


 

St Hilda’s CE High School is one of twelve schools of the PASCH network in the UK and was welcomed into the PASCH school network in October 2018.
It was founded in 1894 as a girls-only school which was turned into a coeducational Church of England school in 1944. At present, more than 863 students are studying at St Hilda’s CE School in Liverpool in northwestern England.
It constitutes the only coeducational CE school in Liverpool , making it a unique type of school. It also offers a brand new school building that has been reopened in 2015 after a phase of refurbishment.
The school’s three German teachers, one of whom a native speaker of the language, teach all of the learners of German at St Hilda’s which constitute one third of the students of all of the respective years. For A-level students, German is offered even for very small groups of students, and St Hilda’s also has established contacts with the German department of the University of Liverpool, offers regular field trips to Germany and what is more, can rely on the profound support for the German language and its relevance of the school’s parents.
On top of that, both the teacher in charge of the participation of St Hilda’s in the PASCH network that has been awarded with the German Teacher Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and the head teacher are very keen on establishing a closer connection between the subject of German and STEM subjects, which is promoted by the Goethe-Institut as one of its key goals.

St Hilda's CE High School
 

Richmond School & Sixth Form College is one of twelve schools of the PASCH network in the UK, situated in North Yorkshire.
It has a historic origin, having been merged from three different schools, one of which being Richmond Grammar School, which dates back to the 14th/15th century. Today, Richmond School & Sixth Form College has about 1470 students, 800 of which are studying German.
Having been transformed from a comprehensive communal school into an academy just recently and also profiting from a new head teacher that teaches French and German, Richmond School & Sixth Form College is now able to focus on especially the teaching of German. With the PASCH network and the initiative concerning the STEM subjects offered by the Goethe-Institut, this will add to this renewed focal point.
Furthermore, Richmond School & Sixth Form College has had an exchange with a German school for years.


Richmond School & Sixth Form College
 

LSA Technology and Performing Arts College is one of twelve schools of the PASCH network in the UK.
It was founded in 1955 as Ansdell County Secondary School and was awarded Technology College Status in 1999 before also receiving Performing Arts Status in 2007, which was why the school was renamed in LSA Technology and Performing Arts College. At present, more than 1400 students are studying at LSA Technology and Performing Arts College in Lytham St Annes, a town close to Preston and Blackpool in northwestern England, making it one of the biggest schools in Lancashire with 300 learners of German.

LSA Technology and Performing Arts College sports a strong international focus and has been re-credited the prestigious International School Award (ISA) which recognises curriculum-based international work.
Based on the European programme Erasmus+, LSA Technology and Performing Arts College has used the online platform eTwinning in numerous projects over the past few years which have been granted National and International Quality Labels by the British Council and the European Commission.
The college has been awarded an Erasmus+ project to last until 2017 and is linking up with schools Germany and other European countries, in part of an EU scheme to create partnerships across Europe and improve education standards. It continues to host Work Experience students from its Erasmus Partner school in Germany. They visit Lytham St Annes and take on placements in various locations while spending a few days shadowing students in lessons.
LSA Technology and Performing Arts College also offers its students a German exchange that has been running for several years already. Furthermore, there is an international club for students which takes place at lunch.

LSA Technology and Performing Arts College, Lytham St Annes
 

Shimna Integrated College is one of twelve schools of the PASCH network in the UK and was welcomed into the PASCH school network in January 2020.

It was founded in 1994 one the day of the first IRA ceasefire by parents of both confessions in Northern Ireland and is situated in Newcastle in south-east Northern Ireland, close to the border of the Rebuplic of Ireland.

Shimna Integrated College was put on the shortlist of the Nobel Price for Peace in 2019 along with all the other integrated schools in Northern Ireland, and at the moment, 600 students of both the Catholic and the Protestant faiths are studying there together.

The school’s two German teachers are supported by a German assistant in teaching German at Shimna Integrated College for all of the 124 learners of German at the school. For A-level students, German is offered even for very small groups of students, and Shimna Integrated College offers the Sixth Form students the possibility to do a work experience in companies in Germany.
On top of that the school in general has a very strong focus on modern foreign languages which also shows in its various awards Shimna Integrated College has received in the past, like the one for a Specialist School in Languages and the International Dimension.

Europa School UK is one of twelve PASCH schools in the UK and joined the PASCH network in February 2020. It is located on the grounds of the former European School Culham in Oxfordshire that used to be the only European School in the UK.

It was founded in 1978 for the children of the scientists working at the Joint European Torus (JET) that were working near Culham.

In Primary, half the week is taught through English and half taught through French, German or Spanish and the school uses the primary curriculum for German as a foreign language that has officially been accredited by the European Union and the European Council. In primary years 3-5, the subject ‘European Hours’ is taught to mixed language groups, generally in the pupil's second language or in the language of the host country.

In Secondary, History and Geography are studied in a second language, ensuring a deep academic and empathetic engagement with Europa School UK’s multicultural approach, with the second language (German or French) being studied to attain near native level (at least C1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

Thus, Europa UK offers an unparalleled education where students are taught bilingually throughout their entire school career as from the age of four, students are taught English along with German, French and Spanish until they graduate at 18, equipped with a highly acclaimed Baccalaureate in at least two languages.

Ballakermeen High School is one of twelve partner schools in the UK in the capital of the Isle of Man, Douglas, and was welcomed into the PASCH school network in July 2020.

During the Second World War, it served as a training basis for the Royal Navy and was part of HMS St George, before being turned into a a coeducational secondary school. At present, more than 1700 students are studying at Ballakermeen High School.

Because of their large number of students, Ballakermeen High School has strong ties with 15 primary schools which feed into their school.

The school’s three German teachers teach all of the learners of German at Ballakermeen High Schoo, and also for A-level students, German is offered even for very small groups of students.
With Ballakermeen High School having close ties with three other secondary schools on the Isle of Man in which German is taught and with an exchange running with a secondary school in Bayreuth for several years already, it also has established contacts with the the local university in Bayreuth as well as companies there with regards to STEM subjects.

This is why Ballakermeen High School ideally combines STEM with vocational education and German as a foreign language, areas which are vital for the PASCH initiative in the UK.
The school also has a CLIL profile and strongly supports the teaching of STEM subjects as a whole, with both also being focal areas of the Department of Education of the Isle of Man, on top of a great enthusiasm for physical education, as well as the arts, making Ballakermeen High School an ideal addition to the PASCH network in the UK.

Windsor High School & Sixth Form is one of the biggest comprehensive school in Halesowen in the Midlands, close to Birmingham. As one of twelve PASCH schools in the UK it was initiated into the PASCH initiative in October 2020 and has more than 1600 students who are learning German all the way from KS3 to their A-levels. 

German is also a popular subject for the school’s GCSE exams, and Windsor High School & Sixth Form is proud to offer German up to A-level as the only school in the local area.

Within the school’s large MFL department consisting of 9 teachers in total of whom 4 are teaching German through all year groups, starting from year 7 up year 13.

Windsor High School & Sixth Form is also already profiting from experience in the teaching of STEM and CLIL and in teaching in a digital format with Google Classrooms, being a Google School as well which is reflected in the aims of the PASCH initiative too, making Windsor High School & Sixth Form an ideal addition to its network in the UK and beyond.

It has organized various thematic field trips to German-speaking countries over the past years, such as visits to German Christmas markets, ski trips to Austria, an a-level excursion to Berlin and a visit to the concentration camps in Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz (Poland).

The school has also been participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme over the past years.

On top of their curricular activities, Windsor High School has a remarkable range of more than 100 extracurricular activities on offer for their students which are integrated into different time slots during the school day, as well as numerous drama productions and a Student Senate, which forms part of the Student Leadership Programme.

It thus provides an ideal combination of already existing programmes for their students that liaise well with all the activities the PASCH initiative has to offer.