Chateau trip

What a fabulous trip we had to the Chateau de la Baudonnière.  Form 6 managed to squeeze a varied selection of activities, ranging from canoeing and fencing (not at the same time) to the now famous mud (stinky slime) course.   The sight of our bedraggled form 6 covered head-to-toe in mud not recommended for a face-pack, and still raising a smile, was fabulous.  The ‘bread making’ was great fun and some super Eiffel Towers and hedgehogs arose from the dough.  The pupils’ patience at trying circus skills was impressive and it was very encouraging to see their success following such effort.  During the canoeing (aka swimming) two of our canoes managed to spend most of the morning going round in circles rather than in a straight line, much to their and our amusement! One of the highlights was the time spent with the baby animals although we had to be vetted on leaving the mini farm to ensure no cutie had found its way into a random pocket.
Our excursions were without incident this year.  The market enticed our pupils into buying the usual items such as watches (whose is still working?!), caps, food but also this year Will Barker has to be commended on his more upmarket choice of African wood sculptures.  Sol impressed us all with his bartering skills at the market and many bargains were to be had.  Form 6, true to their word, did not purchase any of the cute fluffy bunnies or tiny chicks for sale.
Our talent show was entertaining, however next year’s form 6 shall have to put in more weeks of practice beforehand.  Many thanks to ‘Gabiscon’ (Gaby, Issy and Connie) though who were commended on their performance.  On another evening, our French soirée saw the return of the stereotypical berets and stripy tops and the pupils, and possibly parents, had obviously gone to much trouble to put everything together.  Eating the snails produced some super photos and it was great to see so many rising to the challenge.
The trip to the D-Day landings beach at Arromanches provided an opportunity for the children to  reflect on the bravery of our soldiers, many of whom gave up their lives for us,  and the 360 degrees cinema was indeed very moving.  A rapid stop-off at one of the British War cemeteries reminded everybody about just how young some of the soldiers were.
Much French was heard throughout the week; many of Form 6 really impressed us all with their determination to use French and it is always lovely to see how much their confidence and comprehension of spoken French improves as the week passes.  This year’s party were particularly quick to realise that the sooner they had told the staff what every item of cutlery and crockery was on the table, the sooner they could actually eat!  Surely a better way to learn French vocabulary!
A special moment was also had when, whilst at a service station back in England, an elderly couple approached us to comment on the super behaviour of some of our young people.  This is what makes Cundall pupils so special and Madame is very proud of them. Madame would personally like to express her gratitude to Miss Stroud and Mr Woods for accompanying her and the children.  Their great company and continual hard work caring for our pupils was very much appreciated.