St Mary's Calne
On Sunday 11th June, 29 UIV (Year 9) students, accompanied by Mrs Northcote-Green, Mr Griffin and Mme Rinjonneau, set off to spend five days in France and Belgium. After a long day of travelling by coach and ferry, the students were welcomed in Lille by the heat and the sunshine.
Our activities started on Monday with a visit to a local family business which has been making nougat since 1925. After learning about their fabrication process and doing a little tasting, we headed off to the heart of the city of Lille where we enjoyed some well-deserved ice creams before visiting the Beaux Arts museum. The students ended the day by walking around the city, taking in the rich culture and architecture of Lille.
On Tuesday, the coach took us to Belgium where the day started in an organic goat farm. After holding a lot of baby goats, the girls prepared bottles of milk for them which they took great pleasure in feeding to the goats. They then went on to milk the adult goats and they all gave it a go! The owner gave us a tour of the farm, introducing us as well to the chickens and the pigs after which we walked the goats to the nearby field. The girls learned about what makes the farm organic and all the hard work the owner has put into caring for his animals. We ended the morning with a goat’s cheese tasting and a picnic at the farm. The rest of the day was rich in history relating to World War I with the visit of the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the Flanders Fields Museum, and the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres.
The trip ended with a whole day spent at the Parc Astérix, an amusement park where the girls enjoyed dozens of rides and rollercoasters.
This trip has been a true enrichment experience for our UIV students who have put in a lot of effort to practise their French, we could not have been more pleased!
Miss Cécile Rinjonneau
Teacher of French and MFL Coordinator