Normandy Trip October 2008
 Normandy Trip PowerPoint File
In October 2008, 41 pupils from Broughton Hall took part in a cultural and activity-based visit to Normandy in north-west France. Our group was made up of year 9/11 pupils and 5 language teachers. We stayed in a 19th century chateau called Chateau-du-Tertre for 5 days, while doing fun activities, such as trying to complete a challenge course, rock climbing, as well as visiting places of cultural interest and small towns…Of course we also had the opportunity to put our French to good use!
We visited many places while travelling around Normandy. The first was called Bagnoles-de-L’Orne which was a spa town full of small, vibrant gardens and a beautiful lake. While here, we did a town trail by figuring out clues to certain places and at the same time, we were running about like headless chickens! Once we had finished that and had our lunch, we were able to stop and shop so most of us decided to visit the chocolate shop and sample the sweet delights.
The next place we visited was a beautiful town called Fougères which was further away in Brittany. This town is famous for its medieval castle built to defend the Duchy of Brittany from French attack. Here, we also completed another town trail and had the special privilege of watching an army presentation in the grounds of the castle.
Soon after leaving this town, we arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel, a rocky tidal island, surrounded by marsh and sea, considered one of the wonders of the western world! At the centre of the island stands a very tall abbey, so tall that it took us more than 300 steps to reach the top! Once we had finished the tour of the abbey, we were able to shop and buy traditional French food while taking pictures outside the abbey.
The last place we visited was a local crêperie at Ambrières-les-Valées, where we sampled typical French food and drink. That was certainly one of the highlights!
During our stay at the chateau, we had a go at many different outdoor activities. The day-time activities were very hard. They consisted of problem-solving, rock climbing, trapeze and a very muddy challenge course. They were all good fun however.
When it was night-time, each night, we had a different activity to do. First was an ambush game in the woods; second, were team-games inside the gym, third, was a camp fire while doing tasks in teams and singing songs about a crazy moose. On the final night, we had a disco and an awards evening where some people were given awards for doing something special on the trip.
We both really enjoyed our trip to France and would like to go again. We particularly enjoyed the challenge course as we got really muddy and had loads of fun. We also enjoyed trying snails for the first time on our last night! Despite our initial reservations, they were delicious! We all had a brilliant time in France and would definitely recommend this trip! Vive la France!
By Lucy Cuckson and Amie Peltzer.
Emma Salters one of the year 9 pupils who went on the trip said: “I learned a great deal about the North-West of France and it was good . I recommend it to other pupils” |
