Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Year 6 Sample the Delights of La Belle France
23 May 2025
On Monday 12 May, thirty-nine excited Year Six girls arrived at school, bright and early, ready to depart for France. The long-awaited French Trip was finally here! After delivering cases to the driver and saying final farewells to parents, we were off, motorway bound and heading for the South. At the services, the girls treated themselves to a breakfast – Starbucks’ sales intake was greatly boosted by our visit! We arrived at Dover in good time and enjoyed a calm ferry crossing, following a packed lunch at the port. Finally, several Netflix films 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 and then we began settling into their home for the week.
Whilst we stayed both in the Normandy Barn buildings, we enjoyed the opportunity to appreciate the entire Château and its surroundings – a magnificent 18th Century building set in over 40 acres of well-kept grounds, and of course…the resident cat and horses!
Over the next few days, we were all kept busy, with a timetable of both cultural and adventurous activities. A market trip; a visit to a snail farm; a visit to the beach complete with ice cream or crêpes and following a recipe to make their own French mayonnaise, provided plenty of opportunities for the girls to practise their French speaking, listening and reading skills. The adventure activities this year involved Survival, Bivouac (Den Building), Blind Trail, Obstacle Course, Low Ropes, Pétanque (French bowls) and Aeroball – which proved to be a great success! Many were pushed a little out of their comfort zone….and all greatly enjoyed it! The Tracking & Camouflage activity and Camp Fire were firm favourites in the evening.
Food once again featured highly, with everyone making the most of the croissants, pains au chocolat, fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurts 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 an evening trip to the Château tuck shop to top up sweet supplies!
We returned to school on Friday evening tired, but in high spirits 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 staff and activity leaders. Many also commented on how they had formed closer friendships with their peers. The girls also received
compliments for their polite manners, teamwork and positive outlook and were a pleasure to take away. A huge thanks, or should I say ‘merci mille fois’ to all staff and girls
involved in the trip (and to the glorious sunny weather – well mostly) for a wonderful week!
Year 6 French Trip
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