SecondarySchool
Comprehensive School:
My parents brought me to England by car, even before we had found a host family; all that we worked out there. I came to a Comprehensive School, had to get myself a school-uniform, a very interesting experience, and attended there the 'lower sixth form', what is equal to Year 12 in Germany.
In this school all the pupils were really friendly to me, some of them accompanied me during the full halfyear; but only during the schooldays, during the afternoons or holidays I have not seen one of them once..
Here I was something special, I was 'the crazy German', whom they forgave many misunderstandings, because you belong not there really. In this school I felt more belonging than in all the other German schools before (except from Primary school, where I had not really realized, that I was 'different').
After this halfyear my lack of contacts was even more apparent to me, now I knew what I missed, now more than ever before, I realized that something was missing, that I seemed to be strange to others, maybe even cold and rejecting, I don't really know. In England I sat with the others during schoolday, listened to them, sometimes said something, which I thought would fit the topic, and in my free time I went to the youthgroup of a nearby church; I walked for that many miles (and other routes; I walked very much during my time in England, always with a roadmap, so I could stay independant, which is very important to me). If I had decided to visit somebody, than I fetched my plan and walked, if required, 10km without break, without knowing, if the person was at home or not; mostly I was lucky, if not, I waited, because back home I would not have managed. (Such things I also did in Germany, only here it is mainly biking instead of walking.)

From the school-requirements the school in England had high standards, but I did not have to fulfill all the requirements that the English pupils had to fulfill., e.g. I did not have to do all the homework. My Subjects there have been Biology, which was really great (In an essay I wrote about the liver I got an A - the only one of this whole course :-)!!!), then Engllish (Shakespeare's King Lear, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, ....), what was quite interesting, and Art, where we often used techniques that were new to me. Additionally I had General Studies, which included cooking, business studies, technology, 3 Pre-driving-lessons, and more.

 

Grammar School 2 - second time Year 12:

So, back in Germany, I attended Year 12 again. 'Before' England I had the more important Subjects Biologiy and English, this combination was not possibe in this class, so I took 'after' England Biology and Educational Studies. As my 3rd Abitur-Subject I took English and as ma 4th, oral Abitur-Subject i took Mathematics (what really was a good choice).
In Biology I had several very good times - especially genetics and matabolism-physioloy I liked very much (I also preferred Neurology, but that was only taught in year 11 ), while Ethology and Evolution did not get me motivated that much.
In Year 12 I got severalt times the recommendation to do a psychotherapy. Even my Dr. said that. The 'diagnosis' was: 'Depressive Syndrome and behavioural disorder'.der zwölften Klasse wurde mir auch mehrm'. This therapy I started in Year 13, but I will not write further details, only that it did not work for me, and I stopped it after one year. But I found out during this time, not in thins therapy, but parallel to it, where my difficulties and my 'being an alien on this planet' come from:
I do have Asperger Syndrom!

 

Meanwhile I know many other Aspies, got friends in this circle, mainly those friendships started online.
We started a self-help group, have regular meetings, emailgroups and chats, and that is really wonderful!

 
My Abitur I managed with 2,8, the single exams were:
Biology: 2
Educational Studies: 2- (normally that would have been a 2 too, but than I had had to do an additional oral)
English: 2-
Maths: 1 (and that was orally...!!! (The 4th Abitur-Subject is always orally))