Upper School’s Summer French Trip

Hot on the heals of celebrating the fantastic success of this year’s GCSE French students with them (every single pupil achieved an A or A*!), Mme Hunzinger treated a group of current Upper School pupils to a week’s excursion in France as part of their own language and cultural enrichment. Their first port of call for the group, accompanied by Madame and Mr Liley, was the much loved Chateau de la Baudonnière where the programme included an extremely muddy assault course, bread making (yes, even this can be great fun), the ubiquitous French lesson (the bar has been raised ….), fencing, archery and canoeing (aka swimming in some cases). Evening activities included a photo mystery treasure hunt, lots of games, a fabulous sports tournament, aeroball and murder in the dark (although don’t ask too much about that one…). The group also enjoyed a trip out to the large market at Julouville and played and picnicked on the beach in the sun.

The second part of the trip centred on Paris, where the students enjoyed two jam packed days of sightseeing. Highlights included visiting the Pompidou Centre, Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, Montmartre where our girls (and Charlie!) were all pestered to be painted; the Eiffel Tower and lots of walking to look at Le Petit Palais and Le Grand Palais which (like the Eiffel Tower) were built as part of the Exposition Universelle and now house exhibition halls and museums. The group managed a shortish (i.e. not long enough) rest at the Louvre and its pyramid and marvelled at its beauty while catching the sun’s rays. They also spent some time at the Place de la Concorde, formerly Place de la Révolution, (the largest square in Paris and home of the infamous guillotine where Louis VI was beheaded) and saw the Obelisk that was originally located at the Luxor temple in Egypt and which replaced the guillotine once the Reign of Terror had ended. The Jardins des Tuileries offered a welcome break before the group walked 1.9 kms along les Champs Elysées towards the Arc de Triomphe, where they paid their respects and saw the tomb of the unknown soldier and the eternal flame. There was just time in the whistlestop tour to view the Invalides (built as a hospital to house war veterans) where Napoleon is entombed and also stop off at the Trocadero, named in honour of the Battle of Trocadero. Mme Hunzinger is full of praise for the pupils in her and Mr Liley’s care: “All in all, the experience was a hugely educational but lovely week in the company of young people whose parents should be very proud. A refaire!”