The trip began on Thursday 27 June: Nous sommes arrivés! Tired, but safe and excited ready for the adventure to begin. They arrived with lots of time at the ferry fort and our wonderful pupils entertained us with a variety of musical selections played on the piano.
On Friday 28 June they awoke to a hearty breakfast followed by a tour of the castle and the grounds. They had three activity groups each lead by a French animateur or host. One group did the assault course or parcours de santé. Everyone started off nice and clean but then was lots of mud! Merci to Ivan for taking such great photos of this activity.
At the same time two other groups tackled the climbing wall or mur. First of all they started off learning the basic skills of how to work safely with the animateur on the mur. They were then let loose and my goodness we have some good climbers! That afternoon those that had done the assault course then did fabrication du pain and enjoyed their pan with supper, and everyone else did the parcours de santé. It was been a fun-filled day full of great activities, sports and lots of French speaking.
“This year was my first year at Exeter School and it has been the most amazing school year in my life. The Normandy trip was organised by Ms. Trotman and lead by Mrs Sail with a helping hand from Grace Sail, Mr. Hall and Madame Cushion. It was the most thrilling and interesting trip I have ever been on. We did things ranging from rock climbing, archery and bread-making to visiting the Mont St. Michel and much more! Additionally, this trip has been an amazing five-day experience with my friends, without our phones and social media. I have bonded with people with whom I would never approached if it hadn’t been for the random groups we did the activities in. Overall, the Normandy trip has been by far the most amazing experience of my life, and I got to share it with an amazing group of people.” – Eva
On Saturday 29 June, they enjoyed some free time at le marché de Granville. Souvenirs were bought here from all that the different market stalls had to offer. They then had a picnic lunch on the beach and relaxed. In the afternoon there was much excitement about visiting Mont Saint Michel which is located one hour from Granville. They were given a tour of the ramparts starting at sea level and then guided through the medieval streets to a stunning vista, just below the abbey. They then had some free time to explore.
When they got back to the château they had an amazing BBQ supper and free time on the front lawn. After this they enjoyed a quiz conducted entirely in French. To finish off the evening lots of people played football or volleyball making the most of the great weather and good company.
On Sunday 30 June they were based all day at the château. Two of the groups did fabrication du pain. The afternoon was also action packed with climbing, archery and aéroballe as well as learning some new vocabulary for the associated activities. They also celebrated Tilda’s birthday with a cake and some French singing of happy birthday! The final evening was celebrated with the talent show.
Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this trip such a success!
