PHS hosts students & teachers from Germany
Posted October 13, 2025
Plymouth High School recently hosted 20 students and two teachers from Germany, continuing a long-running exchange program.
The visitors live near Frankfurt am Main, a major city in west-central Germany. While in Plymouth from Sept. 15-29, they stayed with host families and gave presentations in PHS classrooms about their education system, traditions, fun facts, and other topics of interest to teenagers.
They visited the Plymouth Cheese Counter, Plymouth Historical Society Museum, and Henschel’s Indian Museum, and toured the Wisconsin State Capitol and UW-Madison campus. After they left Plymouth, they spent two nights in Chicago, where they toured museums and the Hancock Building.
However, the relationship is a true international exchange – not just a sightseeing trip – meant to create global friendships.
"I am pleased to be able to continue to offer our exchange with Karben to our Plymouth students,” said teacher Jessica Barrington. “Students can widen their global views while creating lasting relationships with teens from Germany. Continued support from the district allows our exchange to be successful and is greatly appreciated!”
The exchange began during the 2008-09 school year, with Plymouth hosting the Germans in the fall of even-numbered years and visiting Germany in the summer of odd-numbered years. The Covid-19 global pandemic forced a pause in the exchange, but it was able to resume in the fall of 2023.
PHS most recently visited Germany in June 2024, when three chaperones and 15 students went to Germany for 15 days. While there, the PHS contingent spent nine days with host families in Karben, attending school and giving presentations to their German peers. They then explored culture and history in Berlin, including a bike tour and a dungeon tour, and visited a concentration camp, World War II and Cold War memorials, and the Reichstag government building.
Plymouth is planning a return trip in the summer of 2026. Participation is open to PHS sophomores and juniors, with priority given to those who have taken language classes. Interested students should contact Mrs. Koebel or Mrs. Barrington.
