A French Adventure For Year Six

After delivering cases to the driver and saying a final farewell to parents, we were off, motorway bound and heading for the South. At the services, the girls treated themselves to a breakfast – McDonalds’ and Starbucks’ sales intake was greatly boosted by our visit! We arrived at Dover in good time and enjoyed a relatively smooth ferry crossing whilst the girls ate their lunch. Finally, several DVDs later, we arrived at our destination, the Château du Broutel in Rue. The girls were shown to their dorms, given a quick tour of the Château grounds, taken to the dining room for dinner, completed their first activity and then we began settling into our home for the week.

Staying between the Normandy complex and the Château allowed us the opportunity to appreciate the Château and its surroundings – a magnificent 18th Century building set in over 40 acres of well-kept grounds, and of course…the resident cat!

Over the next few days, we were all kept busy, with a timetable of both cultural and adventure activities. A market trip; a visit to a snail farm; a visit to the beach complete with ice creams or crêpes and the chance to make their own French mayonnaise provided plenty of opportunities for the girls to practise their French speaking, listening and reading skills. The adventurous activities this year comprised Blind Trail, Obstacle Course, Survival, Bivouac (shelter/den building), Aeroball and Low Ropes. Favourites in the evening included tracking and camo, pétanque (French bowls) and the campfire. Many were pushed a little out of their comfort zone….and greatly enjoyed it! We even managed to dodge the showers, which only seemed to happen when we were either on the coach or in the dining room!

Food once again featured highly, with everyone making the most of the croissants, pains au chocolat, fresh fruit, cereal and baguettes for breakfast and the variety of tasty dishes for lunch and dinner - always accompanied by French bread and cheese. The girls, of course, also enjoyed their trip to the Château souvenir and tuck shop!

We returned to school on Friday evening tired, but happy after a lovely week. Many of the girls took full advantage of the opportunity to try something new and really enjoyed working with the Château activity leaders, Mariana and Rodrigo. They were complimented by many on their exemplary behaviour, teamwork and positive outlook and were a pleasure to take away. A huge thanks or ‘merci beaucoup’ to all involved, particularly the staff who accompanied us, (and to the weather) for a wonderful and unforgettable week!