Second Generation Visiting Student Looks Into The Sustainability Of The Overseas Pupils Programme

July 2 2023

Class 10 pupil, Jacob Fintelmann, has joined ESS this term from a Waldorf school in Hamburg. Over the past two weeks his Class have been undertaking Work Experience. Jacob’s has taken place on campus.

Jacob took on two assignments for his placement: assisting German lessons in the Lower School, as well as writing a ~300-word piece about our Visiting Students Programme for this week’s issue of the Tuesday Notice, interviewing his host family, as well as fellow overseas students who have joined Classes 10 – 12 this term. Here is his article and photograph.

Every year, dozens of students from Germany, and all over the world, come to this school to learn or practice English, or just to have a good time. This is made possible through the School’s Visiting Students Programme with the support of Waldorf parents at the Edinburgh Steiner School and the student’s own parents and school.

Each student comes to a host family with whom he then lives during his stay. In my case I live with the Jebsen Moore family. They have children in the school, like most of the host families. My life is actually very informal and usually hardly differs from my time in Germany.

Every day after I come back from school, I can organise my free-time myself and do almost anything I feel like doing. Even on the weekends if there is no homework to do, we can go on a trip or do an activity like go into town and enjoy the time. Also during the holidays you can do a lot – for example, go climbing in nature with classmates or play paintball; but of course you can also go on holiday vacation. I went to Kent with my host family in the half term.

It never gets boring at school because you have varied lessons and a lot of breaks. Every Friday an excursion is organised for the visiting students, so you can go to the museum, look at the city centre, visit the castle or go on other exciting excursions.