Form 6 Chateau Trip 2017

By Ruby Pettifer

I had the most wonderful time at the Chateau. It was the best experience ever.

We arrived on Sunday at 3pm and were split into groups named after letters of the alphabet. Our first activity was a tour of the grounds. We saw the mini-farm, the games room and the letters – where we met in our groups before every activity. Then we went back to our dorms for a long, well-needed sleep.

The next morning it was croissants for breakfast! We ate them all! Our first activity was bread making. Once the dough was made we played competitions. Who could make the longest baguette, the roundest pizza and he prettiest snails. After that we moulded our dough into the shape we wanted it to cook in to – I did a hedgehog – and put then into the oven. For our afternoon activity we tried canoeing. We changed into wetsuits, put on our helmets and jumped into a canoe where we swam in “crocodile infested” waters. Canoeing was my favourite activity.

On Tuesday we drove to the market of Mont Saint-Michel. The market was huge. I bought a beret, a mini African drum and a personalised glass. After lunch we took a shuttle bus to Mont Saint-Michel where we trekked up most of the 80m to the top of the island.

Wednesday was amazing. We first did archery and tried to pop the balloons stuck to the bullseye. Next was the French lesson where we translated our daily routines – c’était difficile. That afternoon we had the famous mud course to tackle. Wearing the tattiest clothes we have ever worn, we swam in muddy water, rolled in sticky mud, then showered with cold muddy water. At the end, all of our clothes were to be found in the bin.

The next day we went to the D-Day beaches and learnt more about what happened on the beaches of Normandy at the nearby museum. We walked to the cinema and then visited the cemetery where we paid our respects to the soldiers. After that, we went to see the Bayeux tapestry. It was very impressive… and long!

On Thursday afternoon we had the talent show. Jemima, Connie, Martha, Amelia and Pippa were the Spice Girls; Sam, Will and Dylan played the African drums; Ellie, Colette and Poppy sang together; Scarlett sang a solo; Tom played the cup song and I played the drums I bought.

I loved my trip to the Chateau. It was the best trip I’ve ever been on. Thank you to all the teachers who helped make it such a great experience for all our year.

To see more of our photos, please visit our Facebook page: Chateau 2017