17 July 2019
41 very excited French explorers departed LSA High School shortly after midnight early on Friday 12th July bound for the Opal Coast in France. First stop was the chocolaterie where they decorated their own chocolate bars and heard all about chocolate production. We then experienced a French supermarket and did a spot of shopping before heading to Boulogne where we were based for the weekend. On the Saturday morning, after practising our French phrases, we mingled with the locals at the market. The pupils were heard putting their language skills into practice asking for various fresh fruit and learning lots of new vocabulary as they browsed the stalls. Following this we were lucky enough to be in the town for the “Fête de la mer”. The town was buzzing with tourists and the atmosphere was fantastic. We watched a very exciting mock helicopter rescue onto a moving lifeboat and saw the tall ships arriving in the harbour. Following this, we proceeded to the largest aquarium in Europe, “Nausicaa” where we marvelled at the many different sea creatures. The evening was spent bowling and then we were very fortunate to see the Bastille Day fireworks over the sea. A magical experience!
On Sunday we visited the snail farm to see how they were farmed and hear a presentation from the snail farmer. Then came the moment of anticipation-would we, could we bring ourselves to try an “escargot”?! The vast majority of pupils embraced the opportunity and although it was an experience they may never repeat again, they were proud of themselves for trying!
The afternoon was spent visiting the lovely town of Le Touquet where a task was set for each group to find and buy various objects from a list. They raced around the shops hunting down a gâteau “mille-feuille” and “un journal” and much fun was had by all, including the obligatory ice cream and crepes tasting on the way. Finally we enjoyed a couple of hours playing games on the beach before heading back for the legendary disco by “DJ Schultzie” and “DJ Brownie” (aka Mr Schultz and Miss Brown”)! There were some impresseive dance moves going on!
Our final morning was spent visiting the boulangerie where we kneaded the dough for the baker and tried freshly made “pains au chocolat”. Sadly it was then time to return home, our ferry awaited us and a long journey home. What wonderful memories and fantastic fun we all had. Hopefully the trip will give the pupils a renewed enthusiasm for their study of French in the future!
France Trip 2019
