Oxford German Olympiad 2027:   

 Berufe - Freizeit - Hobbies!

Welcome to our 15th Oxford German Olympiad!

This competition is now open for entries. Closing date for all entries is Thursday 11 March 2027, at 12 noon.

Results will be published in June 2027. Winners will also be notified by email.

Download the full competition details and guidelines here. 

Please note:

- All entries must be submitted via the online entry form. 

- Each participant may only enter for one task within their age group as an INDIVIDUAL entrant. We will only accept group entries (2-4 participants) for the "Open Competition for Groups" category. 

- We require a consent form for under-13 participants. For group entries, we require a consent form for each group member under 13. Click here to download the form.

NOTE TO TEACHERS: Teachers can submit their students' entries in bulk. Please contact olympiad@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk for instructions.

 

The Competition Tasks

Choose one of the tasks appropriate for your age group.
All tasks to be completed in German, unless indicated otherwise.
Please refer to our full competition details and guidelines for word count guidance.

 

Years 5 and 6 (age 9-11): 

1. „Mein Haustier im Berufsleben“ (My pet – ‘home animal’ – at work). Draw a picture of your pet or cuddly toy, pretending it is working, and explain what job it is doing with 10 labels. (10 labels, 1 side of A4).“

2. „Mein Haus im Jahr 2047“ (My House in 2047). Imagine that you are an architect of the future and designing your own house for the year 2047. Create a drawing of your house and label ten features. At least five of these should be futuristic and at least five should be designed to protect the environment. (10 labels, 1 side of A4).  

3. „Mein Lieblingshobby“ (My Favourite Hobby). Take a photo of yourself – or draw yourself – doing your favourite activity in your favourite place and label the ten most important things or parts of your body for doing your activity. (10 labels, 1 side of A4).  

 

Years 7 to 9 (age 11-14): 

1. „Ein Tag ohne Schule“ Create a short comic about your perfect day off. (100-200 words, 1-3 sides of A4.) 

2. „Viel Spaß im Freizeitpark!“ Design your ideal amusement park complete with rides, games and food stalls. Record a video or audio of yourself explaining its attractions. (1 side of A4 and max. 3 minutes).

3. „App Designer gesucht!“ You’re responding to this ad and need to present your idea for a new app. Your proposed app design should include the name of your app, a logo, its main features, and a testimonial by your imagined ideal target user. (100-200 words, 1-3 sides of A4.)

 

Years 10 and 11 (age 14-16): 

1. „Ich bin Influencer! “ Develop a video or write a text advertising your channel. Explain its name and focus, the topics you feature, why your channel is so popular, and what makes your channel different from others. (INSTRUCTIONS) 

2. „Das Freizeitangebot in meiner Stadt“ - Create a digital brochure presenting the best leisure activities in your home town. (INSTRUCTIONS) 

3. „Zurück aus der Zukunft!“ You have travelled back in time from the year 2047 to the year 2027 and are being interviewed about what life is like in the future. Tell them how jobs, hobbies, and everyday life have changed. (INSTRUCTIONS)

 

Years 12 and 13 (age 16-18): 

1. „Das ideale Freizeitangebot!“ Create a video of yourself giving a presentation about the excellent leisure facilities and opportunities that await the viewer in the German Town X. The town, facilities and opportunities should be real. (max. 3 mins)

2. „Auf der Suche nach den Berufen der Zukunft.“ Create a conference brochure with keynote papers, workshops and activities. (300-400 words, include images). 

3. „Mach dein Hobby zum Beruf!“ Create a brochure or website advertising a job opportunity that sounds too good to be true. (300-400 words).   

 

Open Competition for Groups (2-4 participants):  

1. „Ein Tag als …“ (A Day as …). Create a video sketch including speech, about a day doing a job or pursuing a hobby. (max. 4 minutes)

2. Create a video sketch including speech, entitled „Zu viel Arbeit ist ungesund...“. (max. 4 minutes )

2. Record a podcast with the title „Mein Beruf ist einzigartig“, where one or multiple guests talk to the podcast host(s) about their unusual jobs. (max. 4 minutes).  

 

Discover German - Taster Competition (for participants with no prior experience of studying German) 

Years 5 and 6: „Traumberufe und Lieblingshobbies“. Draw a picture or create a collage of your dream job OR favourite hobby and give your picture 10 explanatory labels. (10 labels, 1 side of A4).  

Years 7 to 9: „Komische Berufe“ (Funny (or Strange) Jobs and Hobbies). Find German words for 10 jobs that you find amusing or odd (either the jobs themselves or their names). Record yourself saying the German words and the English translations. (The funniest word we have come across is Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän – Captain of the Danube Steamship Company!)

Years 10 and 11: „Ein modernes Aschenputtel“ (A Modern Cinderella). Rewrite (in English) the story of Aschenputtel by the Brothers Grimm as the story of a girl exploited as a maid by her stepmother, setting it in a real modern German city and including 15 German words.  (1 side of A4)

Years 12 and 13:  German loves building words from other words! With the help of a dictionary, create two spider diagrams for words formed from the verb 'arbeiten' and the noun ‘Beruf’ (equivalent to a word family such as ‘run’ – ‘runner’ – ‘runny’ – ‘runway’ – ‘forerunner’), providing a translation in brackets under each word. (1 side of A4 for each diagram). Write a short blog post about how you found them and what differences from English you discovered. (3 sides of A4 in total)

 

 

 

 

The Oxford German Network is grateful for the support of the following:

 

Founding Partners:

Jesus College, Oxford

Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Magdalen College School, Oxford

BMW Group Plant Oxford

 

 

Donor of the German Classic Prize: Jonathan Gaisman QC

 

The Oxford German Network gratefully acknowledges

the generous support of ALL and ISMLA to the Oxford German Olympiad.

 

The Oxford German Olympiad is generously supported by Lidl GB.

 

Additional prizes have been generously donated by the following:

 

Austrian Cultural Forum London

Blackwell UK Ltd.

British-German Association

Camden House (Boydell & Brewer)

Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom

German Embassy London

Goethe Institut, London

Oxford-Bonn Link

Oxford University Press

Penguin Books

White Rose Project

 

 

The Oxford German Network would like to thank the Bodleian Libraries for permission to use the Blackwell Hall in the Weston Library.