Trips and days out are always a highlight of school life, and 49 Lower School boys were treated to a particularly memorable outing last week. The group made a 340 mile international round trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France; there and back in just one day!
They said it couldn’t be done, but having left Shiplake with passports at the ready at 6.50am to catch the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, pupils and staff were eating waffles, ice creams and crepes in Boulogne by lunch time. The boys completed a treasure hunt around the old town, part of which involved taking “selfies” in front of French post boxes and shops that they had learnt about during lessons.
Next it was off to the famous Nausicaa aquarium where there was time for a touch of shark spotting and ray tickling in an interactive tank. Pupils then visited the beach in glorious French sunshine to play football and eat yet more ice creams, asking for different flavour combinations in their best French accents. Finally the boys completed a trolley dash around a French hypermarket to stock up for the way home!
The coach returned after a long day at 9.30pm. Head of Languages Mrs Parrott praised the pupils for their attitude throughout the day: “Most boys made the most of the opportunity to practice their French, using some impressive vocabulary and no doubt picking up some new words on the trip. Whilst it was undoubtedly a tiring journey, the boys clearly enjoyed the unique cultural experience putting into practice all the transactional language teachers have focussed on over the last month in class. This opportunity certainly helped to bring the lessons to life, and I am sure we will look to repeat this trip in future years.”
