Personal Statement - French and German

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

At the age of 19, my mother left Sweden, learned English and went on to achieve a degree in English history. Consequently I grew up in a multi-lingual environment. This inspired me to study languages for myself.

Studying French and German at A-level has been helpful but my interest extended far further than the syllabus. I have been taking an interest in French and German films, literature, linguistics, history and philosophy. The films have helped me understand different aspects of France and Germany, from racism in France (la Haine) to the Cold War and Communism (Goodbye Lenin) in German.

I am an independent and confident speaker and oral work is my favourite part of learning a language. As well as giving presentations in French lessons varying from immigration and nuclear power to the dangers of television, my German presentations have ranged from the fall of the Berlin Wall to German music and popular culture. In the school's Philosophy society, I gave a 45 minute presentation on my views on some philosophers and their ideas, particularly Berkeley and Descartes. Speaking confidently means I am keen on drama. I have participated in different aspects of many school plays from acting, to stage-preparation, and I have achieved a Grade 6 LAMDA qualification.

I am also keen to learn other languages, and have started to teach myself Spanish and am now attending some Spanish GCSE classes. Because of my heritage, Swedish also interests me. With the advantage of a native speaker in my household, and a house in Sweden, I am now learning to communicate orally in Swedish, as before I could only understand it rather than speak it. I have also been learning English sign language for a year, passing the first module with full-marks.

In my gap year I intend to work in France and Germany. I have secured a 12 week work placement in Berlin and am currently speaking to French employers. I look forward to becoming even more fluent at university.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

Studying French and German at A-level has been helpful but my interest extended far further than the syllabus. I have been taking an interest in French and German films, literature, linguistics, history and philosophy. The films have helped me understand different aspects of France and Germany, from racism in France (la Haine) to the Cold War and Communism (Goodbye Lenin) in German. As well as reading French and German newspapers "Le Monde" and "Die Welt" throughout the year, I have recently tackled French and German Literature, reading "Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas" and "La fee carabine" in french, and "Am kurzeren Ende der Sonnenallee" and "Crazy" by Benjamin Lebert in German.

My interest in linguistics started after teaching English to an Indian girl for a year, which gave me a great insight into how languages work. Teaching French once a week to younger students has also shown how I can pass on this knowledge to others.

For History A-level, learning of the Cold War and Communism made me put German history into context and understand the social and political status of Germany. Philosophy has also been valuable through studying French philosophers such as Descartes and Sartre, to German philosophers such as Kant and Leibniz. This means my two other AS levels helped in improving my language skills to a wider degree.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

My other interests include archaeology. I did voluntary work experience for 4 months every Thursday morning in my free period at Colchester Archaeological Society. I also took, and passed, an Open University module, Archaeology: The Science of Investigation. From this experience I furthered my interest in British history, and showed that I can be self-motivated outside a classroom environment.

In addition I have an interest in cooking. I took a culinary course during the Easter Holidays so I could be able to cook a variety of healthy meals at low cost in preparation for university.

Universities applied to:

• Nottingham
• Southampton
• Sheffield
• Bath
• Sussex

Grades achieved:

• French (A2) - A*
• History (A2) - A
• German (A2) - B
• Philosophy (AS) - C

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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