As part of their Enrichment Week activities, on 11th June the UIV girls studying French set off on their trip to Rouen.

"Every day we visited places that were both educational and fun. My favourite activity was making the macaroons at a professional cooking factory. I also found the Bayeux Tapestry really interesting. I know that I will never forget our French family or the memories we made with them on the day we arrived."  Rose H.

"We were all so excited to be going to Rouen that upon arrival most of us forgot the painful full-day journey to get there! We met our host families and found that it was really hard to communicate with them at times. On Monday, after a three-hour French lesson, we went to a prestigious cooking institute and attempted to make macaroons. The chefs there were so professional and everyone was extremely impressed. Later on in the week we visited the Bayeux Tapestry, which was incredible, and went round the Bayeux market. We also visited the D-Day landing beaches and saw a 360° film about World War II, which was extremely moving. By the last day, we were sad to be leaving and even sadder to be woken up at 4 o’clock in the morning. Overall it was an amazing trip, we learnt a lot of French along the way and visited some wonderful sites". Lizzie H.

"We arrived in Rouen late on Saturday night, so only met our family briefly before going straight to bed! On Sunday morning, we walked the family dog Chataigne and in the afternoon went to a fascinating museum about Joan of Arc, who was burnt at the stake in Rouen. During the week, we did lots of brilliant activities including cooking, visiting the D-Day landing beaches and going to the Bayeux Tapestry. We also watched Alice through the Looking Glass in French which was brilliant but incredibly hard to understand! I definitely feel that my French has improved hugely over the week, especially through talking with our host family. My favourite part of the trip was Rouen itself which was a beautiful city with lots of interesting history. I will never forget the host family that we stayed with as they made us all feel very welcome and we had a great time playing cards, football and talking with them".  Georgia B.

"Rouen was amazing. It was a great mix between learning and fun, I really felt that I gained a lot from this trip. All the families were very welcoming and friendly and were keen to show us around Rouen! One of my favourite parts was visiting the many markets, cathedrals and the D - Day landing beaches were brilliant. Macaroon-making with professionals was really fun and they were delicious. The Bayeux Tapestry was incredible and it was so interesting to visit such a famously historic item. It was a nice change to experience the French food and to see the French way of living".
Hannah G.