School subjects
Your time at school doesn't just help you learn different subjects, but it also teaches you a number of life skills and gives you invaluable experiences that will help you in the future.
It will be really important for you to be able to give this information when you write a CV – ein Lebenslauf – or do an interview in the future.
Many of the school subjects are similar in English and German, so you have to be careful with spelling.
Question
Can you remember how to spell the following subjects in German?
- Maths – Mathe
- English – Englisch
- Biology – Biologie
- Chemistry – Chemie
- Physics – Physik
- History – Geschichte
- Geography – Erdkunde
- French – Französisch
- Art – Kunst
- Music – Musik
Did you know?
German schools finish much earlier than British schools, with most finishing in time for children and teachers to go home for lunch – das Mittagessen. While that probably sounds great, German pupils usually start lessons at around 8am – a lot earlier than schoolchildren in the UK – and finish around half past one in the afternoon, with only two short breaks.
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland if the temperature on a school day in the summer months exceeds 30° C in the shade, a state of Hitzefrei, literally 'heat-free', is declared. This means that all pupils get sent home from school, as it is deemed too hot to work and concentrate.
