Last week 5 staff took 45 pupils on a residential trip to France, based at the Chateau de Grande Romaine on the outskirts of Paris. We left school at 10:30pm on Sunday night and travelled overnight to Dover, where we crossed to Calais. We stopped off en route for lunch and to stretch our legs at Vimy Ridge, which is a Canadian WWI battleground and memorial before journeying the rest of the way to our destination to arrive in time to get unpacked, have tea, and for a swim in the outdoor pool on site. On Tuesday we visited the town of Brie-Comte-Robert, which we toured on foot and the children purchased from the French market, before heading into Paris and visiting Montmartre and Sacre Coeur in the afternoon. On Wednesday we spent the whole day at Parc Asterix, where our group got to experience the rides of their choice and on Thursday, the whole day was spent in Paris, visiting and going up the Eiffel Tower, taking a sightseeing boat ride on the Seine and a walk through Paris (mid Olympic preparation) to the Louvre. Evening entertainment included crepe making and a silent disco! We returned back to school late on Friday night, a little exhausted, but after having a really successful trip. The children were fantastic and made the trip memorable and we hope they got a lot out of it.
We must thank the staff (Mr Souter, Mr Robinson, Mrs Telfer, Miss Davis and Miss Chicken) for keeping the children safe and also because trips like this would not happen if staff were not prepared to undertake them. Thanks must also go to Mrs Stephenson who started the ball rolling back in 2021 in preparation for the trip. We have provisionally booked the next trip to France for 2026, so hopefully lots of our current Year 5 and 6 pupils will want to be a part of that!