Class 8 Pack ‘One Physical And One Metaphorical Suitcase’ For International Exchange

March 18 2025

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The Class 8 Exchange is arguably the culminating event of Lower School. Other than a few years during COVID, this school has been exchanging Class 8 pupils for many decades. The exchange can be to any French or German speaking country and allows the pupils to immerse in a language they have been learning for eight years. On May 10th Class 8 will be heading to Coburg, Germany, for 4 weeks; and ESS will inherit a Class into our school community.

Die Mittelstufenzeit kulminiert im 8. Schuljahr in drei besonderen Ereignissen: Die Klasse erarbeitet ein großes Theaterstück, jede Schülerin und jeder Schüler liefert eine individuelle „Jahresarbeit“ ab und stellt sie einem großem Publikum vor, und schließlich unternimmt die Klasse eine längere Klassenfahrt, die oft zugleich den Abschluss ihrer Klassenlehrer*innenzeit markiert, notes the Waldorf schule in Berlin.

Alongside the continuation of the unique Waldorf Main Lesson programme, such as Anatomy in Class 8 / Klasse 8, translated, the above reads: the middle school years culminate in the 8th grade with three special events: the Class develops a major play (Romeo & Juliet), each pupil submits an individual “year’s work” (Class 8 Projects) and presents it to a large audience, and finally, the Class goes on a longer class trip (International Exchange), which often also marks the end of their time with the Class Teacher. This is true of the Waldorf school in Berlin, whoe Class 8 pupils will be joining our school community over May and June, to the 1,200 Waldorf schools all round the world, including our own in Edinburgh.

This is a monumental exchange which requires massive amounts of preparation and not just on the behalf of the teachers,” says Class 8 Teacher, Karen Ford, who started with the cohort of children in the first year of school.

Class 8 Teacher, Karen Ford

“Class 8 have had to reflect on what they really need over there to manage this adventure as they take with them one physical suitcase and one metaphorical suitcase. The latter is filled with experiences from previous trips (the Olympics, Hadrien’s Wall, camping at Garvald, adventure school) which gives them the resilience to know that they can cope with prolonged time away from family and a good knowledge of their personal coping skills such as a pillow case smelling of home. In class we are learning how to use Google Maps in Coburg, put together the trip rules which are always written by the Class, how to deal with that awkward moment sitting with a strange family and being presented with the local “delicacy”. They also want to know which day trips they will go on, how the 3-day mid-exchange trip to Berlin will be filled and who will be hosting them. Over the next couple of weeks I will be meeting with each pupil to check that they are going to be comfortable with the proposed host family and have something in common to bridge that first meeting.”

Class 7 Teacher, Tiffany Kopp.

Usually, beginning in Class 7, pupils engage in class discussions about the realities of not only being away from their own family for several weeks but also living with a host family,” says Ms Kopp. “Culture shock can be a difficulty for some, but it is greatly eased by the knowledge of what to expect. Everything from foods, transportation, school life, and cultural norms are discussed. After placement decisions have been made, pupils and their families have the opportunity to connect with their host family before the exchange.”

 

Like all independent schools in Scotland, ESS welcomes many new pupils into the Class, especially from Class 5 upwards, some of whom having not been taught languages, or German specifically, since they were six.

German Teacher, Frau Kuhangel

German Teacher, Frau Kuhangel, has been building the pupils’ language skills so that they are equipped to be taught the Waldorf curriculum in German, living for a month with a German-speaking family and navigating themselves around the city of Berlin.

While this event has been part of the school curriculum for many years, lives in the soul of the school, and is something most pupils spend years eagerly awaiting, it can be a very foreign (forgive the pun) idea for families who join the school in mid- to late-lower school”, continues Ms Kopp. “Often, families haven’t had as much time to get excited about the prospect, and newer pupils worry that they haven’t had as much time to get familiar with the foreign language. However, year after year, pupils find that they end up picking up the language so much faster once they are immersed, and they have an amazing time while they’re away.”