Côte d'Opale Trip

Each year, our MFL department takes their Year 8 students to Côte d'Opale in France for a fantastic trip during the Autumn half term break. Two students who took part in the trip have written reviews of the trip which can be read below:

Luke 8B

This year, some of the students in Year 8 were selected to go to Côte D’Opale in France. The trip lasted for three days, from Friday 19th October to Sunday 22nd October. We visited several places, including a chocolate factory, a French market and a theme park. This trip was super helpful to improve our French vocabulary and learn more about France, and of course, it was great fun!

What did we do?

Friday

We arrived at school at 6:15 in the morning. We were all very tired and cold, but we boarded the coach and bid farewell to our parents before leaving the school. The coach journey took around two hours, and we soon arrived in Dover, where we then took a ferry across the English channel. We split up into groups of 4 to explore the ferry, and my group had our lunch early while we waited to arrive in France.

Once we arrived in France, we continued to ride the coach until we got to our first stop: a shopping centre. Once again we were divided into groups, and we could explore the area and buy some snacks along the way. There were some arcade games that my group and I tried to play, although we couldn’t play very well as the instructions were in French! Eventually, we returned to the coach just in time to avoid the rain. After some time, we arrived at the chocolate factory.

The chocolate factory was not how I imagined it: I was expecting a large, grey warehouse, but in front of us was a quaint wooden building nestled between some trees. One of the chefs came out and showed us some of the machines, and taught us how to say the ingredients of chocolate in French. Soon, we entered the building, and saw the array of machinery that the chocolatiers used. The chef showed us the process of moulding chocolate, and we also got to taste some of the chocolates he had made. As we left, we were allowed to buy something from the shop. I bought a small packet of chocolate cookies.

We boarded the coach yet again and advanced to the hotel, where we met Ruby, one of the animateurs. She guided us to our rooms in the hotel just as it started to rain again. I was in a room with five other people, all of whom I knew and am good friends with. We came downstairs again to have a lovely dinner of spaghetti bolognese before we then did the final activity of the day: Ruby showed us a variety of practical problems that each group of students would have to solve. The challenge was that all of the instructions were in French, so many of the groups weren’t too sure of what to do. After that, we were sent to bed.

Saturday

We woke up Saturday morning and had a breakfast of cereal and croissants. We had to leave early, as we were going to a market in Boulougne-Sur-Mer. Once we arrived at the market, we were separated into groups, and left to explore. The task was to buy ingredients to make our own lunch with some money the teachers had given us. The market was a test of our French skills, as we had to ask for what we wanted and how much we needed in French, as well as figure out the price. We managed to buy our ingredients, although we did get an entire lettuce by accident. We soon returned to the hotel and crafted a delicious sandwich with cheese, lettuce, chorizo and olives. We had most of the lettuce left over still; more lettuce than you could shake a stick at. That afternoon it was raining, so we stayed inside and played board games for the afternoon. Natasha, Adam and I played Uno, and a verbal game where no player was allowed to say the word ‘yes’. It was great fun.

Then, we visited a bakery. We met a baker called Bruno who demonstrated how bread was made and taught us some words in French too. It was very interesting to learn about how important bread was to French culture.

We returned yet again to the hotel, and had a dinner of sausage and chips. Some brave students also volunteered to do a blind taste-test of a mysterious food, which was later revealed to be snails. I didn’t try one, but some of my friends had quite a few. The evening activity was a disco party. After that, we went to bed. That night, none of my roommates could sleep, and so the majority of their night was spent playing Uno on the floor. I managed to get some sleep, luckily.

Sunday

Sunday morning, we had a similar breakfast of cereal and croissants. We had to prepare ourselves quickly, as we needed to leave early to drive to Belgium. It took about an hour, but once we arrived there, we were allowed to explore in groups. I’m not a huge theme park person myself, but I did go on some of the rides, and even went on my first rollercoaster. After some time there, myself and Will had lunch at the Texas Grill restaurant, after which we joined groups with Riley and her friends. We explored the park, went on more rides, and eventually it was time to leave.

We drove to the coast of France, where we took a ferry back across to England. I bought myself some fish and chips for dinner, although I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. We soon got back to England, and took the coach all the way back to Charters. There, we met again with our parents and returned to our homes. Thankfully, it was now half-term, meaning I could finally get some well-earned sleep in before the morning.

How did this improve my French?

Throughout the trip, there were many tasks that involved using your French skills in public, both interpretation and speaking. I learnt some new words, and the opportunity to speak French in public to French people was challenging but improved my French skills by a lot. Not only this, but we learnt some new words as well.

What part of the trip did I enjoy most?

It’s difficult to pick a favourite part, as it was all a blast. If I had to, I would say either the market or, surprisingly, the theme park. I’m not usually a theme park person but it was great to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.

Summary

Overall, I had a lot of fun on this trip, and it was an amazing opportunity to use my French skills. To any Year 7 students that plan to pick French as their language, I would highly recommend this trip, as not only was it a great time but it will help a lot for your learning in the future.

Sammie 8B

From the cold early hours of the morning to the returning trip on the ferry, there is so much that I could say about the French trip - all beginning with the first coach and ferry ride that took us from Charters all the way to France! We left at about 6:45am and drove until around 10am, where we were lucky enough to catch an earlier ferry that would give us some extra time in France, which we spent at a French hypermarket having a taste into daily life in France. After that, we headed to the chocolate factory where we saw each stage of authentic chocolate being made, and even got to taste some, freshly made! Then, exhausted yet very excited, we headed to the place we would call home for the next 2 days - the Hotel Le Moulin Aux Draps.

Situated in the countryside near the town of Desvres in Northern France, the Hotel sported some great views, rooms and even trois chats (three cats), who were timid but very cute! We were then shown to our rooms where we unpacked our bags and had the opportunity to just explore before dinner which was pleasant. We ended the first day with some very tricky mind puzzles, and lots of excitement for the next day.

On the 2nd day, we woke up to a nice French-style breakfast before heading off to the market, where we ordered food to make our lunches while only speaking French. Personally, I found that much of a challenge, but it resulted in me learning a lot more about communicating in French. We made our packed lunches back at the Hotel: soon later, to our dismay, it began raining quite heavily which meant that the town trail planned could take place. Instead, we had a cosy afternoon in playing board games, studying French and exploring the Hotel even more. After that, we went to a lovely boulangerie (French bakery), where we saw how bread was made and got to taste Pain au Chocolat and Crossiants.

After arriving back at the centre, we had a very interesting and mysterious surprise prepared for us - escargots (snails). We were given the option of trying them, which I, feeling sceptical, did not take (and I still don't regret). Many people did take the opportunity graciously though! Soon after dinner, we were called downstairs for a disco - our goodbye by animateurs and staff of the Hotel. We all had a great time, and this was one of my favourite moments of the whole trip.

On our final day, we had an earlier morning and went eagerly on the coach on our way to the theme park - the Bellewaerde park in Ypres, Belgium. After a long ride, we arrived, and all began exploring the theme park on our own. This was also where a lot of my memories of the trip with friends were made: undoubtedly, we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously!  I can remember a personal story in the trip, walking through a section of the park dedicated to Halloween and getting scared for my life when I got chased by a man with a chainsaw! It was very frightening at the time, but I can easily laugh about it now.

Our trip came to an end when the sun began to set and we left the theme park, boarded the coach and headed to the ferry at the port of Calais, where we boarded at around 8:45 and arrived back in England at approximately 10:30. We headed back on to the coach where we arrived back at Charters at 12 in the morning, ending our lovely 3 day trip to France!

Reflecting back on it now, I can't just pick a favourite moment in the trip - there were so many times which I was happier than ever, from the coach rides to the theme park! If I had to pick, it would be mostly everything on the 3rd day - the coach rides, theme park, and returning home with so much new knowledge and memories. The trip helped me a lot developing my French as well: I feel much more comfortable with speaking and can use a lot of day-to-day terms in French.

There are so many things that I am yet to write but can remember and recall from the Cote d'Opale trip - from the hectic but enjoyable coach rides to places such as the theme park and the French market. From the beginning to the end, I picked up a lot of new French vocabulary and enjoyed myself so much in general! 

Thank you for reading!

Our thanks to the members of staff who accompanied the students to France, and to Luke and Sammie for such informative reviews of their trip.