The importance of English as a Foreign Language in our Institute is reflected not only on the emphasis it has in the Curriculum, but also in the use of well recognized international examinations to assess the students English proficiency.
The tests are administered by Cambridge University, which uses the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) to grade the students. The CEFR establishes and categorizes the different proficiency levels of a Foreign Language into six levels of language proficiency: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
In order to know the actual English proficiency Level of our students, in 2003, the English Department decided to invite 12th grader students to participate and take these tests for the first time. Fifteen students took the Preliminary English Test (PET- B1), with excellent results. Since then, the English Department of the German Institute, decided to incorporate these tests as an external assessment for our students.
In 2006, students had the opportunity to take the First Certificate in English (FCE- B2).
In 2010, and based on the excellent results from previous generations, our aim was more ambitious. Three students chose to take the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE- C1) as an experiment, obtaining excellent results, with one student getting the highest score on the test.
Currently, the English Department is continuously encouraging and motivating students to voluntarily participate in these evaluations. Due to the excellent results obtained, it became mandatory for 10th graders to take PET Exam in 2014. Students are being constantly trained during their regular English lessons.
Regardless the fact that until now taking these exams was absolutely voluntary, our Institute leads the number of students who sit for these exams in the Region and it is the only school that presents candidates to take the C1. Students volunteer to take both the FCE and CAE. They prepare themselves by attending one extra lesson every week, free of charge.
Challenges never end, this is why we are proud to highlight the outstanding results obtained by our students in the latest SIMCE Tests (2010 and 2012), that ranked our Institute in the 28th and 44th places among the 100 best schools in the country.
Our goal as English Department is to keep training students so they can be better prepared, not only to face these international examinations, but also to provide them with the tools to face the constantly changing world after completing their High School Education.
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