Wednesday, 11 October 2017

French Exchange 2017 - our adventures so far





Tuesday 10th October: departure from Tomlinscote at 4.30AM. A bit early for some...




After a smooth journey down to Ashford International station, we waited patiently for our Eurostar.














The train journey itself was very quick and rather dull - despite trying our best, we could not spot any fish out the windows whilst in the tunnel under the Channel.











We felt rather honoured that, not only was Mr Daullet present at Lille station to greet us, but also Mr Fleter, Headteacher of the French partner school.

We then proceeded to discover our new surroundings, including Notre Dame de la Paix school.







We also started to embrace French culture and traditions with a short stop in a French café for a hot chocolate and a game of cards.










At last, it was then time to meet our French partners in the flesh and have lunch with them.










The rest of the day was spent discovering Lille and its metropolis on foot and on the City Tour bus.













All in all, a really long day that left us all exhausted.


Wednesday 11th October: market time, on the square right in front of the school. What better than some fresh strawberries, grapes and roast chicken sandwiches at 9.30AM?
Communication with the locals started to become that little bit easier and more natural.






























The final stage for the morning included the treasure hunt.








We finally returned to the school in order to catch up with our partners and take part in their afternoon activities.








Tomorrow, lesson time...


German exchange - Wednesday in Ulm.

Today the English students and their German partners went to the beautiful city of Ulm.  First there was a guided tour of the town and then time for lunch and shopping.  Afterwards most went up the church tower, the tallest in Europe.  A very hard climb, there were some shaking legs afterwards.  Finally we took the opportunity to get a group photo.






















Tuesday, 10 October 2017

Visit to Tübingen - German exchange.

A day in the beautiful university city of Tubingen.  In the morning punting and then lunch and shopping time and in the afternoon a guided tour.  We found out about the history of the city and visited a church.  Even a little rain did not dampen the spirits, our guide's shirt would brighten anyone's day!




























A day in school. Bild c.

Bild c.










A day in school. Bild b.

Bild b.







German exchange - a day in school.

A day in school today, very long for many - 10 lessons, starting at 7.45 and finishing at 5.20!  Some enjoyed helping out in English lessons, in between attending a variety of subjects.


Bild a











German Exchange -arrival at school.



Our students were very excited to see their partners again, lots of shouting, squealing and hugging!

Thursday, 5 October 2017