German Ab Initio

Applications Open - 3 November 2025

Applications Close - 23 January 2026 (This is the official deadline, when planning for the new timetable will begin; however, applications will still be accepted after this date.)

Entry Requirements

IBCP: 3 x Grade 6 & 2 x Grade 5 (inc English & Maths)

IBDP: 6 x Grade 6 & 2 x Grade 5 (inc English & Maths)

IB course option: 6 x Grade 6 & 2 x Grade 5 (inc English & Maths)

How to Apply - Please apply via KentChoices

The overall objective of the ab initio course at Dane Court is for students to achieve communicative competence in a variety of everyday situations. To promote this, the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing will be regularly practised so that students develop their ability to both understand and use the written and spoken word.

Learning a foreign language provides the opportunity for enjoyment, creativity and intellectual stimulation. We will encourage an awareness and appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures.

The aim of the ab initio course is to promote the idea that learning a language is more than a school subject and to encourage students to continue to use their language skills independently after the course.

The course focuses on everyday situations and aspects of the culture related to them. This ensures that the appropriate emphasis is placed on communication. The course is organized into topic areas which provide the teacher and the student with a context in which communicative functions and grammatical structures and vocabulary can be practised. Topics studied include the following:

Identities: personal attributes, personal relationships, eating and drinking, physical wellbeing.

Experiences: daily routine, leisure, holidays and tourism, festivals and celebrations.

Human Ingenuity: trnsport, entertainment, media, technology

Social Organisations: neighbourhood, education, the workplace, social issues.

Sharing the planet: climate, physical geography, environment, global issues.

External assessment:

• Paper 1: Writing (25%)

• Paper 2: Receptive skills

• Listening comprehension

• Reading comprehension (50%)

Internal assessment:

• Oral exam (25%)

International Baccalaureate Diploma: 6 x grade 6 and 2 x grade 5 at GCSE or equivalent.

International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme: 3 x grade 6 and 2 x grade 5 at GCSE or equivalent.

We have a strong history of students going on to study language-related degrees.