Just before the Easter holidays, 45 students and 5 colleagues took part in our four day MFL visit to France. After a long overnight journey down to Dover, and an early ferry crossing, the group visited the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge, before arriving at the magnificent PGL Château de Grande Romaine, in Lésigny, just outside of Paris.

On Saturday, the group spent the full day in the centre of Paris where they had a tour of the major sites in the coach and then climbed the nearly 700 steps to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city. This was then followed by a Bateaux Parisiens boat cruise along La Seine. The day ended with some free time browsing the shops on the famous Avenue de Champs-Elysées.

On Sunday, the group visited the small town of Brie Comte Robert where they completed a treasure hunt followed by a visit to the local traditional market to practise their spoken French. In the afternoon, they visited the beautiful Château de Fontainebleau, a former summer residence of the French monarchy, and the amazing gardens. They had a self-guided tour of the Château which contains many items that belonged to Napoleon.

In the evening, students enjoyed a traditional crêpe making class and had some fun playing dodgeball in the grounds of the Château, which in 1998 was the base for the Brazil football team during the World Cup 1998 held in France. The famous Ronaldo walked the same corridors and stayed in the same rooms! Other football teams including PSG and Chelsea have used the Château as a training ground.

On Monday, the group travelled home and had the opportunity to visit a local hypermarket on the way to Calais before catching the scheduled ferry with only three minutes to spare!

The whole group were highly praised by the staff at Château for being so much fun, friendly, enthusiastic, and polite. All the students were a credit to themselves and had a brilliant time, helped by the fantastic weather all weekend.