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Scotland – Here I come!

If you are thinking about spending a semester at one of our partner universities in Scotland, then please hurry. It is still possible to study and/or work in the UK with Erasmus funding – but only until spring 2023! Two more years then before the UK and thus Scotland will no longer be part of the EU Erasmus scheme.

No changes to Erasmus funding (yet), but Post-Brexit new visa und health insurance regulations have come into force. We have compiled a list of the most important things you will have to consider for your studies and internships in Scotland.

We will no longer send you to one of our Scottish partner universities for more than 6 months.

For if you are enroled as a student for less than 6
months, you will not require visas and can enter the UK with your EU passport (“Reisepass”), which will have to be valid for the whole term of your stay. Your ID card (“Personalausweis”) is no longer valid for entering the UK but you might need your ID card for proof of address. As a short term student, you will no longer be allowed to do paid or unpaid work in the UK.

You can continue to use your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is on the back of your health insurance card, to get access to national health services (NHS). Note that you may not receive all of the services you would receive at home, as the Scottish health system differs from the German one. Additionally, we advise you to organise travel insurance to avoid extra costs. The DAAD provides an insurance package that includes health insurance, accident insurance as well as liability insurance and costs €69 per month.

Study (more than 6 months)

For a longer stay, you will have to apply for a student visa. You can apply up to 6 months before the start of your term, visas are usually confirmed within 3 weeks. It costs £348 to apply for a student visa from outside the UK.

Make sure to bring your health insurance card, which includes the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), and don’t forget to organize additional travel insurance to avoid unexpected charges! The DAAD provides an insurance package that includes health insurance, accident insurance as well as liability insurance and costs €69 per month.

Internships and the GET Programme

Erasmus+ interns as well as our German Educational
Trainees require a Temporary Worker-Government Authorised Exchange visa (T5), which costs £189 for German citizens (£244 for others).

You can only apply for a T5 visa after you have received a Certificate of Sponsorship. Our EU Servicepoint will take care of that once you have been accepted as a GET or an intern in one of our programmes. It will take about 3 weeks to obtain this certificate and is free of charge

But you will have to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge (£470 per year) in order to get access to National Health Service (NHS), even if you have private medical insurance. If you have a visa for less than 6 months, you only have to pay half of the yearly amount. Don’t forget to organise travel insurance: The DAAD provides an insurance package that includes health insurance, accident insurance as well as liability insurance and costs €38 per month.

Here are some useful links for more information

General information on Brexit

Information for students who are planning a semester abroad in Scotland

SCILT Article on Languages Week

Our partners at Scotland's National Centre for Languages (SCILT) have mentioned our GETs in their article on Languages Week 2021:

"Languages Week Scotland 2021 took place during the week 1 – 5 February. The theme was ‘Celebrating Scotland’s languages landscape’ and the aim was to amplify the voices of people, organisations and events that celebrate multilingualism and the many ways it manifests in Scottish communities. SCILT invited children, families, schools, communities and organisations to engage with the week through the hashtag #scotlandloveslanguages on Twitter.

John Swinney opened the week with a video message. This is now hosted on the SCILT website or can be viewed on social media.

As part of Languages Week 2021, the Scottish Government confirmed councils will receive £2.4 million funding for the current year to support the continued teaching of languages through schools.

John Swinney set a daily languages challenge through Twitter. These are now hosted on the SCILT website. Throughout the week, the range of challenges enabled learners at all stages, from primary to FE/HE and families at home to celebrate language learning and languages in the community.

Wednesday’s challenge was an invitation for the nation to flood Twitter with tongue-twisters in languages other than English – a language learned at school or a language spoken at home. Here is an example from the German Educational Trainees.

On Friday, the challenge was to find objects in other languages around the house. Find out how St Roch's responded.

At the start of the week, SCILT posed the question, “What do languages mean to you?” and received these answers (among many others):

Many partners across the country joined in the celebrations for Languages Week Scotland, including:

City of Glasgow College Library Service
Scottish Book Trust
BBC Scotland Learning
National Museum of Scotland
Project Trust

Two events will follow on from Languages Week Scotland, later in February:

Read the full article here

Languages Week Scotland 2021

The annual Languages Week Scotland took place on 02-05 February 2021. As the protection of multilingualism is very important to us, we were happy to join our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council and raise awareness of the benefits of learning second languages. Join us in 'celebrating Scotland's languages landscape' and have a look at the exclusive material we are providing for German teachers in Scotland! Throughout the week, we have created several language learning challenges that can be found below and on our social media pages (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook).

Here's what our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council said about the GET programme in light of Languages Week:

"This is a highly valued partnership, based on solid shared commitments to supporting our young people

with language learning and in forging active, life-long links across borders.

Through our collaborative work, hundreds of Edinburgh primary and secondary pupils, their teachers and families,

have enjoyed the tangible benefits of the energy, enthusiasm and expertise our German Education Trainees

bring to our classrooms – real and virtual!

The 2020-21 cohort of GETs have made a unique and invaluable contribution, bringing language learning

to life at a time of great challenge and uncertainty.

We are all looking forward to watching this partnership grow and flourish in years to come."

Challenge Day 1: Numbers 1-10

Challenge Day 2: die Wochentage - the days of the week

Challenge Day 3: Zungenbrecher - tongue twister

Challenge Day 4: Redewendungen - figures of speech

Teaching in Scotland during Corona times

Due to the Corona pandemic, it was unclear for a long time whether a stay abroad in Scotland would be possible this year or not. Luckily, the West Lothian Council offers a house for all GET teachers each year where they can live for their six months. Luckily this included me! As soon as I got the information that I can enter Scotland I took the chance, booked a flight and packed my bags. Since the good news came at very short notice, everything had to be done quickly. But with a lot help of my friends and family in Germany and also from the people in Scotland I managed everything very well.

As soon as I arrived, I was surprised by the friendliness and kindness of the Scottish people. On the way from the airport to my new home different people asked if I need help with my baggage and everyone who came towards me greeted me. Later I realized that is completely normal (at least in small Livingston). However, I think it's a small gesture that makes a big difference. At the house I was warmly welcomed by the people who support the GET teachers in my council and even by the head of the modern languages department at my school. Two meters away from each other, of course.

During the next few weeks, I had time to arrive and to settle because I had to wait for my PVG. This paper allows me to enter a school and work with children. I used this time to take a lot of walks and to explore my new surroundings. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to travel any further because of Covid restrictions. I was already aware of this fact, but it was a shame anyway.

I remember that I got my PVG on a Saturday with the mail and on Monday I was already able to go to school and join the German lessons. Also, on this day I met my mentor and all members of the department. The pupils gave me a tour of the whole school and for me it was very huge and confusing. The James Young Highschool is two times bigger than my old school which is why I was very impressed. Around 1200 pupils attend this high school. However, there are few pupils studying German. German is not a mandatory subject. After French and Spanish, it is their third foreign language if they choose to study it. In some courses there are only three pupils. I would not say that this makes teaching easier, rather it is different. Besides co-teaching, my mentor gave me the chance to plan and teach lessons on my own. I can’t deny that I was nervous before these lessons because of the language barriers, but my mentor was in class in the back of the room all the time and the pupils were very understanding and patient. I had a few lessons planed on German stereotypes, culture and traditions which lead to interesting conversations. Furthermore, I learned that not every lesson goes as planned and that every class works and learns in different ways. My mentor gave me a lot of efficient feedback which I could use for future lessons. She gave me the chance to try different techniques and methods, and I cannot describe how thankful I am to her. Even in this short time I learned so much.

Due to a mutated virus and therefore new Covid restrictions, my physical internship had to end at the beginning of the new year. It was the safest solution for me to travel home and to support the school virtually from now on. This decision was made within four days, which led to another spontaneous departure. I am sad that my time in Scotland is over so much sooner than expected. However, I definitely want to go back someday because I found friends in colleagues who supported me so well during these difficult times and moreover, I have to catch up on much more travelling.