Creative, Clever, in Spanish – Grade 8 impresses the Jury
With their creative and impressive original production “La chica nueva”, the 8th-grade students of Berlin Cosmopolitan School have won first prize in the Team Spanish category at the Federal Foreign Language Competition (Bundeswettbewerb Fremdsprachen). The official award ceremony took place on May 20, 2025, in the auditorium of the Max-Taut-Schule in Berlin – and our students took center stage.
The Federal Foreign Language Competition is one of Germany’s most prestigious school competitions and promotes linguistic creativity and teamwork at the highest level. In the Team category, participants are tasked with writing, filming, and submitting a short film of up to ten minutes in a foreign language – with up to ten students involved in the process.
A Student-Driven Film Project
Under the guidance of their Spanish teacher Mr. Sánchez Sánchez, the class developed an engaging script centered around the character “La chica nueva” – a new girl at school whose presence causes quite a stir. The idea emerged through a democratic process: in small groups, students drafted initial plot outlines, title suggestions, and scene ideas. After an internal class vote, the winning concept was collaboratively refined and developed into a full story.
The project combined creative writing, team organization, acting, and technical skills. Each group wrote its own scene while maintaining close coordination with others to ensure the narrative was cohesive. Roles were then cast through an audition process before filming began – during lessons, breaks, and after school.
Pride and Applause at the Awards Ceremony
At the festive ceremony in Berlin, Ms. Borgmann from the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family praised the students’ passion for languages and their dedication. Several teams were recognized in the Spanish category – but La chica nueva stood out and was awarded first prize by the jury for its originality, linguistic proficiency, and overall execution.
Congratulations to all the participating students of Grade 8 (E. Aebi, A. Briest, M. Goos, J. Plog, O. von Schubert, K. Arnreiter, O. Carpani, M. Lesenarova, E. Ruiz, Greta Wengierek, A. Schnitger) and to Mr. Sánchez Sánchez for this outstanding achievement! Your dedication, creativity, and team spirit clearly show the power of language in action – ¡Enhorabuena!
About the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Preschool and Kindergarten
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School is changing the traditional way schools and kindergartens work with different approaches to learning in the areas of nature and environmental protection, sports, new work, culture, dance, music and art and much more. The aim of the independent school, preschool and kindergarten is to bring all students along according to their abilities.
“When school motivates, everyone learns more” is the conviction of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School. Regular outdoor learning, sports activities and competitions, digital projects such as robotics, internships from grade 6, music-making from kindergarten age, dance clubs, bilingual education and much more help the children to discover and develop their own preferences and abilities.
Important concerns of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Kindergarten and Preschool are social justice, equal opportunities in education and a balanced community. The school regularly awards scholarships to students and accepts refugees. Through its established network and internationally trained staff, the educational institution has the opportunity to explore new educational paths for every age group.
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organisation by Yvonne Wende. In 2004, the first bilingual (English-German) kindergarten and preschool opened for Berlin-Mitte with 18 children. Shortly after, the primary school started and most recently, in 2009, the accredited bilingual Gymnasium of Berlin Cosmopolitan School 01P22. Since then, the number of students has steadily increased. Approximately 1,000 students from all over the world are now being taught on the Rückerstraße and Invalidenstraße campuses. The kindergarten has grown to a number of more than 300 children between the ages of 1 and 6.
In 2013, Berlin Cosmopolitan School was accredited as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, first for primary school and also for the Gymnasium. The IB Learner Profile is about developing children and young people into lifelong learners. The school and kindergarten use primary experiences to design lessons.
