Voyage Scolaire en France
Voilà! Nous sommes allés en France pour la première fois depuis trois ans, et on s’est très bien amusés !!
Our first post-Covid France residential took place at the beginning of July, and we were so, so very excited. 30 students and 4 teachers had an early start on Sunday the 4th, and were bussed to Dover where we took the ferry to Calais. Beautiful weather and great experiences awaited us across the Channel.
Le Château d’Ebblinghem was to be our home for the next couple of days, and our Francophiles got well immersed from the get-go. Straight off the coach, Y9 and 10’s were asking for directions from locals – en français bien sûr – as they discovered the beautiful old cities of Boulogne-sur-Mer and St Omer. The locals – some of them dressed as Napoléon himself – obliged and welcomed our Woodsiders to this beautiful part of the north French coast. À recommander!
Back at the Château, we had a crêpe making lesson, and plenty of time to enjoy the sun and warm weather. Fatigués mais heureux, we had a good night’s rest before our next two days of rambling around France’s Pas-de-Calais region.
Highlights our students still talk about are the Chocolatrie de Beussent, where we got to see gorgeous (and pricey) pralines made. We also learnt about the origins of the chocolate we consume today, and tasted raw cocoa. Everyone was surprized by how awful the raw product tasted. C’était dégoûtant! We loved the chocs we got to munch on later, however! Miam miam!
Many of us said the trip to Nausicaá, western Europe’s largest aquarium, was the highlight of the trip. Manta rays, penguins, seals… and gazillions of French school students on day trips! It was brilliant.
First in this writer’s mind, however, is our trip to the beautiful town of Le Touquet, where we all got our little moment in the sun, au soleil à la plage, and really got to take in what an away-trip is all about. Les amis. Les photos. Les mémoires que nous garderons pour toute la vie. C’était vraiment un moment de grand bonheur, et pour les élèves et pour les profs.
Many thanks to our chauffeur, Richard, and our accompanying teachers – Madame Flaender, Monsieur Howe, Señor Miranda, and Monsieur Connell, and the staff at the Château d’Ebblinghem. On reviendra, c’est sûr et certain!
Many thanks are also due to the Tottenham Grammar School Foundation, which, again, has helped making over-seas residentials possible for Woodside students. Without this support, it would not be possible to offer these enriching experiences to our wonderful students. Nous vous remercions. La difference que vous avez faite est inestimable.
Mr Connell
