In this edition:

• Instant Impact: updates and higher grant
• UK-German partnerships - online guidance for schools and youth groups
• The Power of Partnerships
• Deadline approaching: funded summer courses in Germany
• New voyage kids features
• Happening right now: 'Are refugees welcome?'
• FLA/ELA project updates - hot off the press
• Looking ahead: programme applications and deadlines

As of 1 January 2016, the maximum grant amount for Instant Impact is £1,500. The guidelines and application form have also been updated.

The Instant Impact grant gives schools and youth groups a perfect opportunity for first-time visits for pupils (*). Funding is available on a rolling deadline, and you can apply at any time provided we receive your application at least six weeks before the visit.

(*) Planning visits for teachers (only) can be supported through the Partnership Visit Fund.

For more information about Instant Impact and our other funding opportunities, please see our website or call us if you have any questions.

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/funding

Are you looking for a partner school in Germany? Do you need guidance on running and developing partnership activities? Our new UK-German partnerships pages are full of advice, practical tips, and information on funding for visits and joint activities with a partner in Germany:

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/linking

This new section of our website is dedicated to the importance of international experience for young people. It includes quotes and comments from teachers, head teachers and pupils on the impact and benefits of partnerships and exchanges as well as some top tips from teachers and 'myth-busters' from young people:

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/power-of-partnerships

Applications for the German Pupil Courses and the German scholarships programme must be submitted by 10 March 2016. Group leader applications must also reach us by then.

Find out more about previous experiences, and don't miss Rachel's and Jack's videos about their time on last year's German Pupil Course:
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/experiences

General information about the opportunities:
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/gpc
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/gpc-leaders
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/scholarships

Do your pupils come in from breaks covered in mud? Why not teach them about the marvellous German sporting event of the Wattolümpiade, a multi-discipline competition involving football and running, which takes place at low tide on the northern German mud flats.

If cars are more down your pupils' street, you can direct them to our new feature on the Trabant, the famous East German car lovingly known as Rennpappe ('racing cardboard'), due to its unorthodox construction.

Both features include useful vocabulary and lots of fascinating facts:
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/kids-find-out

Coming soon: Easter Special

UK-German partner schools Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form in Norwich and the Gesamtschule Konradsdorf in Ortenberg are currently working together on a project on the current and political refugee situation.

Find out more about their activities 'happening right now'.
http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/showcase-are-refugees-welcome

The showcase section on our website also has a number of other examples of UK-German school and youth projects.

Showcases: http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/showcase

How has the world changed for young people since the year 2000? This is just one of the topics our FLA/ELA Ambassadors have been investigating in their projects with pupils across the UK and Germany. Find out more on our FLA/ELA project update page:

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/flaambassadors-showcase-2016

• 10 March: deadline for summer courses applications
  http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/opportunities-funded
• 10 March: deadline for group leader posts on the German Pupil Courses
  http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/gpc-leaders
• end of April: application process opens for the Youth Ambassador programme 2016-17
  http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/youthambassadors
• end of April: application process opens for the Host a Teacher programme 2016-17
  http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/hostateacher
• 1 May: deadline for German Teacher Award nominations
  http://www.uk.diplo.de/Vertretung/unitedkingdom/en/06/1Language/2GTA/GTA2016.html
• 31 May: next deadline for grant applications http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/funding

For all upcoming deadlines, download our calendar of opportunities for 2015-16: http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/professionals-parents

Don't forget – you can always call or email us if you have any questions or would like to discuss your project ideas. Telephone 020 7824 1570, or email info@ukgermanconnection.org

Best wishes,

Your UK-German Connection Team

info@ukgermanconnection.org
+44 (0)20 7824 1570