Our recent Year 8 day trip to Boulogne-Sur-Mer was a fantastic success and a truly memorable experience for our students. Over the course of the trip, the girls enjoyed being immersed in French language and culture. While exploring the historic town, they confidently seized opportunities to use their French in real-life situations when ordering food and buying souvenirs in local shops.

They particularly enjoyed the ferry crossing to Calais, from the spectacular white cliffs of Dover, glittering in the early morning sunshine, taking in the fresh sea air on deck and experiencing the excitement of travelling abroad together. For many, this was a highlight of the day and added to the sense of adventure.

Another highlight was our very interactive visit to the historic Boulangerie d’Escœuilles, a bakery founded over 100 years ago. During the visit, students learned about its long-standing tradition of bread baking, and some even had the opportunity to place and remove bread from the traditional wood-fired oven, just like professional bakers.

The girls demonstrated excellent behaviour, curiosity, and enthusiasm throughout the day. It was fantastic to see so many of them stepping out of their comfort zone and applying their classroom learning with such confidence.

We are incredibly proud of how well the students represented the school and their families. It was truly a memorable and enriching experience.

Mrs Alexander and Ms Louis-Joseph, MFL Tour Leaders

Bonjour,

The trip to Boulogne, France, was like no other. The arrival at school at 3 was tiring, but being with my friends and the excitement of going to France made that tiredness goes away. The ferry was a really nice experience for me, and I think the best place was visiting the town because we got ice cream and got the chance to go shopping by using our French skills from yr 7. Also, visiting the old bakery was a nice experience for us. Overall, this was a great experience for my classmates and me, so all I have to say is “c'était le meilleur voyage scolaire”.

Fathima 8T

 Our Year 8 trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer was a highly enjoyable and memorable experience. After travelling from school by coach to Dover, we had time to relax, explore shops, and visit cafés before boarding and on the ferry. It was great visiting the historic old town of Boulogne and its narrow, traditional streets. We saw the impressive Notre-Dame Basilica of Boulogne and its eye-catching dome. We bought some souvenirs, such as French sweets, ice cream, jewelleries…. The atmosphere was lively and gave us a strong sense of French culture and heritage.

In the afternoon, we also visited a traditional French bakery, where we had a demonstration of how to make French bread. This was an engaging and educational experience as the baker mosatly spoke to us in French. They kindly offered us some freshly prepared pain au chocolat and we had the opportunity to but some other delicious pastries.

The trip was an amazing experience to practice our language skills and explore new places. It is a day I am sure we will remember this day trip for a long time.

Aya 8A

The day trip to Boulogne was so much fun! We started the day by getting on the coach at 3am. We travelled for 2 hours to Dover where we had a breakfast stop and got on to the coach to drive onto the ferry. The ferry was big and lots of fun to be in. When we got to the small town, we walked up a steep hill to a cobbled street area where you can buy snacks and treats! After we had lunch on the coach and went to an old bakery where we tried their delicious chocolate croissants and learnt how to make bread. Overall, it was an amazing trip.

Zoe 8A