Year 8 French Trip to Normandy 2025

The Year 8 first language French pupils went to Criel-sur-Mer in Normandy during enrichment week and had a wonderful sunny time whilst being immersed in the language and culture. Here is a summary of our trip from the following contributors: Charlotte R, Rafaella C, Amelia A, Thea T, Millie P, Emilia M, Alina K, Amalia G and Madame Romero.

Jour 1

After our early wake up call to get the ferry to Calais we enjoyed a welcome break at Le Touquet where we relaxed on its beautiful beach and paddled in the sea. We then had a guided visit in French at la Chocolaterie de Beussent. When we arrived at the chocolate factory, we got to try cocoa beans. They tasted very bitter. We also tried chocolate which was 100% cocoa. That was just as bitter! We learnt about how this was made and that cocoa beans are originally white. We also went inside the factory and saw how the chocolate is made. At the end, we got to try hazelnut chocolate and the chocolate from a mould shaped like a chicken! C’était très délicieux !

Once we arrived at Château de Chantereine we met one of our animatrice, Louise to play un jeu de piste, a scavenger hunt. It got very competitive and ranged from finding an elephant to a daisy; creativity was needed!

Jour 2

C’était l’anniversaire d’Amelia ! The day started off with half the group completing challenges and the other half making bread. Jeremy, our animateur, put us in groups and we completed several challenges such as balancing books on our heads whilst walking, throwing wellies the furthest with soap on our hands and tug of war.

Anthony, our third animateur led the baking session where we all became boulangères and made bread from scratch with sel, farine et levure. We shaped our bread into creative designs and then got to eat them.

In the afternoon we visited la Chèvrerie La Petite Caulette. There were so many animals, quails, geese, chickens, chicks, cats and of course goats which we got to hold! We tried goat cheese, it was really strong and not to everyone’s taste but the goats were cute! C’était très bien ! 

The afternoon ended at le Tréport town where we ate ice creams, bought a few souvenirs and walked along the beach before going on its funicular, to enjoy the seaside view.

Jour 3

C’était l’anniversaire de Rafaella !

Le jeudi, nous avons visité le marché à Dieppe le matin. On a acheté des choses pour manger dans une baguette sur la plage. On était dans un groupe et nous avons acheté du fromage, de la salade et des tomates. Aussi, la plage était vraiment jolie. On Thursday, we visited the market in Dieppe in the morning. We bought things to eat in a baguette on the beach. We were in a group and we bought cheese, salad leaves and tomatoes. The beach was also really nice.

We visited the school Rachel Salmona which was really fun. In small groups we went on a tour with French students whilst completing puzzles to find the next room and the next clue. C’était marrant ! We then had a typical French goûter with the students and ate lots of petits pains whilst chatting to them in Franglais !

The day ended with an evening visit to the beach of Criel-sur-Mer. We paddled in the sea, watched the sun set and played volleyball with some of the boys from the French school, it was lots of fun!

Jour 4

C’était l’anniversaire de Radhika !

On our final day we went to la Boulangerie d’Escoeuilles. We went into the kitchen where the boulanger showed us how to make du pain. We each got to make our own loaves as well as learning how to put them in the huge traditional wood fired oven. After that, we went outside and ate freshly baked pain au chocolats. C’était délicieux!

Before heading to Calais to board the ferry we stopped off at l’Hypermarché Auchan where we bought final souvenirs and French treats.

Thank you/ Merci to the Year 8s for being fantastiques on the trip and to Madame Pavlopoulos, Madame Garrill et Madame Loosli for accompanying.

 

Year 8 Spanish Trip to Cádiz 2025
The Year 8 first language Spanish pupils went to El Puerto de Santa María in the province of Cádiz during enrichment week and had a fantastic four days in the sunshine, soaking up the culture and improving their Spanish. Here is a summary of our trip from the following contributors: Aavanya A, Amairah R, Roop N, Suki D, Silvia O M, Arya P, Gabby M A, Ramun N, India B, Amelia J, Ava K, Betsy L, Elli P, Iris F, Phoebe, Edie C, and Señorita Becker.

Día 1

We arrived at school at 4:15 am! We then travelled to Gatwick Airport where we checked in and had breakfast before getting the plane to Seville. When we arrived in Spain, we were greeted by our Spark chaperones, Niko and Pedro. We got the coach to our hotel, Hotel Pinomar, in El Puerto de Santa María, where we settled into our rooms and had dinner before getting an early night, ready for a busy day full of activities!

Aavanya A

Our group of 60 students was divided into two smaller groups of 30, and we then had parallel itineraries for the next two days.

Día 2/3

On Wednesday for group 2, and on Thursday for group 3, we did a walking tour of El Puerto de Santa María. First, we walked to the bullring, and on the way in, we saw that the entrance was a hall with real bull heads all along the walls. We entered the bull ring, and it was an enormous, old structure with seats all around it in a circle, and a large circular arena in the centre. We were told that there was a bull fight happening later on, although we didn’t stay to watch it. We then walked through the town’s market and learned lots of new food vocabulary.

Amairah R

Afterwards, we walked to a small restaurant in the centre of the town, where we had churros con chocolate! It was very delicious, and we also had the chance to order our own drinks in Spanish.

Roop N

Next, we went to an old castle, El Castillo San Marco, which we had a tour around. We learned a lot about Spanish history, including the different religions and cultures which have shaped Spain, such as its Arabic and Roman influences.

Suki D

In the afternoon, we played padel in small groups at a padel centre, and had to speak to the instructors in Spanish. At the end, we had an informal padel competition and even the teachers got involved!

Silvia MO

Later on that day, we had some time on the beach which was really fun! In the evening, we enjoyed pizza on the beach and after the teachers surprised us with ice cream.

Arya P

Día 2/3

On the next day, we took a ferry from El puerto de Santa María to Cádiz. When we arrived, we got to see the town hall and cathedral and learn about their history.

Gabby MA

Next, we visited the food market, which was very crowded with a large variety of food and drinks. We bought lunch there in Spanish, and it was all very tasty and fresh, cooked in front of us.

Ramun N

Then, we went up the tower to see the highest point of Cádiz and we saw different parts of Cadiz with the cámara oscura which was really cool!

Edie C

Afterwards, we went to a Roman Amphitheatre, which was very well preserved. It was a very interesting place to visit as it was incredibly old.

Amelia J

Later on, we got free time to go around the shops in Cádiz. We got the opportunity to buy souvenirs, gifts and food, and we even all got to get ice cream, which we ordered in Spanish.

Ava K

In the evening, we had tapas out at a restaurant, before we packed up, ready for our final day.

Día 4

On the last day of our trip, one of the activities we took part in was making paella for lunch. We cut up the vegetables and learnt how to say all the ingredients in Spanish, it was really fun and delicious!

Betsy L

After making Paella we had a Flamenco Class with a teacher who gave the lesson in Spanish. It was very fun and interesting to learn how to dance the flamenco.

Elli P

After our flamenco class, we took part in a quiz in the park where we split into groups and  guessed the prices of Spanish food and drinks. We also wrote postcards about our trip to different staff members at channing.

Iris F

After we finished doing the flamenco class and made postcards in the park, we ate the paella we made earlier in the day. There were options of seafood, chicken, or vegetable paella. Once we finished our lunch, we received certificates from the teachers, such as for the person who spoke the most Spanish, the person who had been 10% braver, and the person who had best demonstrated Channing’s values.

Phoebe W

We then got the coach back to Seville airport, where we got some free time before boarding the plane to go home. Afterwards, we got on the coach to go back to school, arriving back at Channing at 1:30am! We were tired, but we had a really fantastic time on our trip!

India B

Thank you/gracias to the Year 8s for being such a pleasure to take to Spain, and to Señor Waring, Señor Jackson, Señorita Sequeira, Señorita Jiménez, Señorita Zuluaga y Señorita Gomez for accompanying!

Señorita Becker