The purpose of our trip was to visit the cultural attractions, practice speaking, listening and reading the French language in everyday life situations.
When we arrived at the hotel, students were allocated their rooms, had their first French dinner and were then able to enjoy the beach next to the hotel. They even had a water fight much to the joy of the teachers!

On Saturday morning, we set off by coach for our trip to Bayeux and the lovely market where students could use their French for the first time, whilst buying souvenirs or ordering food. Once all students were back on the coach, we headed towards Le Mont-Saint-Michel. It looks like a castle with many steps (350 to be exact!) and we took students to the top where the view was stunning; the sun was out which was even more enjoyable. After climbing all the steps, the students deserved an ice cream or a drink, so they had a bit of free time.

On Sunday, we had a busy day ahead of us, all based on the historical culture of France during WWII. At the approach of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of France, we were lucky to visit the memorial of Caen which told us everything about the war and alliances during this time in history. We then had a movie about Normandy during WWII.

We settled for a quick lunch (because it was raining), before going to the Arromanches Cinema which is a 360 degree cinema about the second world war. Students had an immersive experience with 9 screens showing a high definition film containing archive footage of the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy. Located on the clifftops at Arromanches, the cinema dominates over the remains of the Mulberry B harbour at Gold Beach. After a quick group photograph in front of one of the most famous landing beaches, we went to the German bunkers and found a lovely rocky beach a little way along, where students had the possibility to enjoy the sun.

We then went straight back to the hotel as we had an early dinner. Then we went bowling to end the trip where the students had a great time, having fun, eating donuts and laughing.

On Monday, it was time to leave Asnelles and then it was time to make our way back home to England. We stopped off at a chocolate factory where students had a demonstration of how chocolate is made and could decorate their own chocolate bar. It looked tasty and teachers were disappointed to not do it as well. There was also time for some shopping as we had a bit of free time before taking the shuttle. Year 9 students were able to spend their money and buy some food, souvenirs, and for girls… go to Sephora (the place to go if you like make up!)

Looking at their happy faces, we could tell that our students had a great time. Many thought the Mont-Saint-Michel and the bowling were the best part of the trip and comments included Emma Birch who said ‘the best place we went to in France was the Mont-Saint-Michel’ and Jack Taylor who liked ‘going to the 360 degree cinema.’ These thoughts were echoed by Seren Lewis Jones, Amelia Ray and Bobby Badham and the majority of the students. For some students though the most enjoyable things were food related; Luke Harley liked the French food generally and ordering his own food.