eTwinning

Sign up to the European Union's free online community, browse schools and collaborate on projects in your own secure online space. The site offers project best practice examples and kits to help you get started.
www.etwinning.net

Partnerschulnetz (School Partner Exchange Network)

Website of the German Federal Foreign Office, where you can register as a member and browse over 2,000 schools through a search function.
www.partnerschulnetz.de

Host a Teacher

Establish a new link with a German partner school by hosting a teacher from Germany for two to three weeks. This is a great manageable, short-term activity, which gives you the opportunity to discuss possible partnership plans during the visit.

For primary schools looking to establish a new link with a German partner school, the UK-German Bears project is a great short-term activity where pupils host teddy bears from the other country and learn about each other’s culture and language.

You may also wish to consider:

• researching town-twinning links (your local authority may be able to help)
• using personal contacts (ask parents, governors, other teachers or your foreign language assistant)
• contacting local companies that may have links with German schools through trade relations.