Chateau Chat 2009

Château visit 2010

nataliebourke — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:46:49 +0000

Bonjour tout le monde! We have arrived – not at Château du Tertre in Normandy but Château de la Grande Romaine in Lesigny, just outside Paris.
Due to the problems with obtaining fuel in France we have been unable to follow our itinerary and travel from Paris to Ambrières les Vallées. As we understand it, oil refineries are being blockaded and only a limited amount of fuel is being sent to petrol stations, therefore fuel is currently being rationed in many areas.
As there was a distinct possiblity that our fuel may last to Normandy, but no further, and that we may not have been able to obtain any more, we were advised by PGL in Normandy not to travel that far and risk being stranded.
Instead they offered us accommodation at their centre outside of Paris. We arrived a couple of hours ago, tired but very happy to have found a solution to our problem! We have eaten a fabulous meal, and all of the students are now relaxing in the games room, playing table-tennis, pool etc.
We apologise for the change of plan but felt that rather than cutting the visit short, or worse, being stuck in Normandy for several days longer than expected, the obvious solution was to stay in another PGL centre, where the same activities are on offer.
The students will not miss out on any of the activities – we have just arranged for some really exciting experiences over the next couple of days. Check again tomorrow to find out what we got up to!!

Miss Bourke

And . . . the next trip Oct 2010!

mssrps — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:50:49 +0000

Look out for next year’s trip! It will be the week before half-term, October 18-22 2010.
We’re taking serious linguists of French in year 10, 12 and 13. We will be going to Paris and Disneyland again, as well as some of the other places we visited in Normandy. Of course, we want to change things a bit too, so that if you have already been you’ll find something new to do and you’ll also be able to enjoy some of your favourite activities from last time.
Why not blog us and let us know what you enjoyed most and what you would like to do this time, and we will see if we can include them in next year’s trip. Cost will be about Â£300 again for the full week including all visits and nearly all food!! Come on badgers, we’re going to Normandy! N.B, there may be some places for year 11 students as well.

The aftermath!

nataliebourke — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:24:38 +0000

As you all know, we’re back now, but we didn’t have time to tell you about everything else we did whilst there.

We mentioned the Jeux de la Génération, but didn’t give any details. Here’s what happened.

The evening was organised by PGL staff and the acitivities they came up with were great! First of all there was a balloon game. Everyone tied an inflated balloon to their ankle; the aim of the game was to burst everyone else’s balloon and keep yours intact. I think chaos best describes it! I’ve never seen so much laughter!

Next up was the Fluffy Bunny Marshmallow game. Five volunteers had to stuff as many Marshmallows into their mouths as possible and still be able to say ‘Fluffy Bunnies’. The pictures serve as a warning to those who volunteered to keep themseleves in shape!

Fluffy Bunnies!

After that came my favourite game of the evening. Another five hapless volunteers came up to have a go. They were told to put on helmets – you could see them wondering why on earth they needed helmets! A bag of oranges was produced and they were told that they were going to hit the oranges with their heads. One volunteer didn’t need to hear any more and began to batter the life out of his orange (you know who you are!). They then had to eat the oranges, without using their hands at all! A sight to behold, I can promise you!

Why do we need these exactly?

One girl admitted afterwards that she didn’t even like oranges, but she wasn’t going to let the team down and she ate every scrap!

After this came the superhero game. Each team had to dress up one of their members as a superhero, using only bin bags (unused ones, you’ll be pleased to know). They had about two minutes to give their superhero a name (in French) and give them a superpower. They had to do the catwalk and their team had to explain what their power was. The winner (who looked, I have to say, like something out of a horror film) was L’homme recyclé.

Superheroes? Oh help!

A brilliant evening, enjoyed by staff and students alike. Thanks to the PGL staff who organised it. Merci Simon, Luke et Sami!

Mercredi le 14 octobre.

In the morning students visited the market at Flers and in teams they bought their lunch. I have to say that I was incredibly proud of all of the students, particularly those who are less confident when speaking French. Every single one of them spoke to the market traders in French to buy their food.

Then they brought it back to the château and prepared it. They were given points for buying local food and points for presentation. Just look at what they made! Masterchef eat your heart out!

Miam miam!Fab food!

On Wednesday afternoon we visited a Cider Museum and were able to sample some of their delicious Cidre Doux.

Santé!

On Wednesday evening we had a little boogie at the disco (lots of fun had by all), we thanked the PGL staff for their fabulous work and handed out certificates to all Year 10s for their great French work. Staff also nominated those students who we thought had put in extra effort to receive small prizes of dictionaries. Well done to all!

Thursday was a jam-packed day. We reluctantly said goodbye to the PGL staff and headed for Paris. First stop was the incredible Palace of Versailles.

Then we continued into Paris and toured around in the coach, looking at all of the landmarks. We stopped off to look at the Eiffel Tower, of course!

Say Badger!

We had a lovely meal and a good night’s sleep in our hotel and then headed for Disneyland!

Despite the chilly and slightly drizzly weather spirits weren’t dampened. A great day had by all, then a long journey home. I think we were all glad to see our beds!

Mercredi le 14 octobre, Château du Tertre, Normandie. 18h30.

mssrps — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:28:57 +0000

Hi to everyone at home. This is our third day in France and I can honestly say that we are all having a great time. On behalf of the staff I would like to say that the students have been a real credit to their parents and the school. We have been extremely proud of the way they have conducted themselves and of the way they have thrown themselves into the activities.

Lundi.

Monday was a very tiring day, and we had a long journey in the coach. We were certainly pleased to arrive at the château and unpack. Dinner was excellent and everyone enjoyed the games ‘Passeport au monde’ organised by the PGL staff. Enjoyable as they were though, we were all happy to drop into bed! There was certainly no need for staff to ask anyone to be quiet – within about twenty minutes of going to their rooms, the whole block was silent!!

Mardi.

Breakfast went down very well. Beaucoup de croissants, chocolat chaud… délicieux! After that the group was split. GCSE students spent the morning doing team-building activities (and being a bit of a wuss, I have to say that they were all very brave to have a go on the zip wire!). There was a fabulous game which involved the students being blindfolded and all holding on to a rope. They had to follow a member of the PGL team and pass back instructions as they walked around the woods on the Château grounds (watch out for the dip, tree on your left, etc). Very amusing for a spectator, and a good lesson in communication and team work for them! In addition to this there was a tightrope walking challenge, whereby the students in pairs had to face each other standing on parallel wires and try to support each other while moving as far as possible on the wires. Meanwhile the A Level students prepared for and made a visit to the local school. where they were very warmly received. They obviously made a bit of a hit as they were invited back! In the afternoon the whole group went into the village of Ambrières les Vallées. The GCSE students completed the town trail, answering questions in French and the A Level students visited the Mairie and the Gendarmerie. We managed to retrieve them all without any being locked up for the night and all enjoyed their first taste of French crêpes and sirop, which was so popular that the students have insisted upon an impromptu supermarché visit to buy some sirop to take home.

After dinner we played jeux de la Génération (hilarious -see the pictures). More tomorrow! Now we’re off to boogie.

Au revoir.

Everyones having a great time!

mssrps — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:06:49 +0000

Bonjour, tout le monde!

Having a great time here at the chateau, we’re all very tired after spending 14 hours on the coach! Tomorrow we will be visiting the local school, town hall and police station and chatting to the people there. We will post more tomorrow, but for now we’re off to bed!

Au revoir!

Year 10, 12 and 13 Visit Normandy

mssrps — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:48:04 +0000

Year 10, 12 and 13 are going on a week-long study skills trip to a real French chateau in Normandy this week. They will be developing their French language so that they can improve their marks at GCSE, AS and A level.

Year 10 have dedicated language lessons before going out to a cafe, market and on a town trail. Year 12 and 13 are visiting the local town hall and police station and will be establishing email contacts with the local secondary school. The A level students will be interpreting for year 10 on the visit to the cider museum and the trip will end with a coach tour of Paris followed by a day at Disneyland.