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...

'Como tu no hay dos' - Spanish Song

HOLA AMIGOS!

Here you have a SPANISH SONG (with lyrics) that was very famous few years ago!

The singer, Beatriz Luengo, is a Spanish actress who was so successful dancing and singing in a popular Spanish TV series (UPA Dance), that then she also became a singer, being very popular in Spain and France as well!

Will you be able to repeat the catchy chorus?

HASTA LA VISTA!

in case the video doesn't work, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxAdD4N1tg8

Celebrating MFL success

The end of the Academic Year saw the celebration of the amazing success of Tomlinscote's finest linguists. 

A selection of students from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 were nominated by their MFL teachers for the consistently detailed, complex, and accurate work they produced over the months. Their efforts were acknowledged with the award of a badge (in the style of those issued by the PE department) for the language(s) where they have been shining over the course of the year and we hope that they will wear them proudly on their jumpers as from September.

A fine bunch of students!

In the meantime, some well-deserved rest is undoubtedly needed by our MFL ambassadors after so much effort. Well done!

International School Award

We are pleased to announce that Tomlinscote has been accredited for a further three years with the International School Award, acknowledging the school’s strong focus on the international dimension in the curriculum.

Mrs. Danny Brown, Director of the Specialist Language College and International Co-ordinator, said; "All the staff, students and governors at Tomlinscote are delighted and proud to have received this award, which recognises the outstanding international work being done at Tomlinscote, where the constant aim of staff and students from all curriculum areas is to enable every member of the school community, irrespective of the career pathways he or she may choose, to make a maximum contribution as a global citizen in a 21st Century global society."  

The international activites at Tomlinscote do not only include the MFL exchanges and trips to France, Spain and Germany, but also various international joint ventures organised by other departments, such as a bilingual science project with the Robert-Bosch-Gymnasium near Stuttgart and a music exchange with a school near Munich. 

Watch this space for more information on the various ongoing international activities!

Support Tomlinscote Climbers!

Ten of our Tomlinscote staff are endeavoring to climb three peaks in 24 hours in order to raise money for the charity Cancer Research UK.

During half-term, they will ascend on Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon - all in one day!

The wonderful people are: Mr Bacon, Ms Barnes, Ms Ealey, Ms Holledge, Mr Major, Mr McKay, Mr Regan, Mr Schofield and Ms Towler, as well as our very own German language assistant Ms Karoline Schmied.

Do show them your support around school, and please (get your parents to) give generously for their very worthy cause via this website:  http://www.justgiving.com/tomlinscote3peaks

Good luck to them and  Thank you! Danke! Gracias! Merci! for your support!