Bristol Hannover Council
Honorary Consul spreads the word for next generation
** Kai von Pahlen, the the German Honorary Consul in Bristol and a BHC committee member,
has launched a German Club at Castle Primary School in Keynsham. The club offers each pupil
the chance to develop a pen friendship with a German child and to pick up the basic language
skills needed to draft a letter to their new pen friends.
The letters include information about the pupils, such as hobbies, favourite foods and the jobs
they want to do some day.
Shared history between England and Germany is also included – ranging from the first arrival
of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain to the royal houses of Hannover and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(now Windsor of course).
Kai von Pahlen with his eager pupils
The club has partnered up with Egestorffschule in Hannover, whose pupils look forward to
receiving German letters from their English counterparts before responding in English. The
German club has been scheduled over eight hours in September, October and November.
Kai says: “I believe that understanding one another is the basis for cultural cooperation and
friendship, so I hope that my students will continue to on their path to learning a new
language.”
He is planning to record his teaching sessions so they can be shared electronically with other
schools in England who would like to develop similar letter exchanges with a German
counterpart.
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