In June a group of students and staff left Woodham, in the small hours of the morning, to spend a week improving their French in the small seaside resort of Stella Plage on the Opal Coast of Northern France. Sadly, for the first day at least, the soggy English summer accompanied the group. Unfortunately the first sight of the sweeping sandy beaches was accompanied by pouring rain! Fortunately the weather improved for the rest of the stay and the group were able to enjoy some French sunshine and plenty of ice-cream!
The students were introduced to French cuisine, and enjoyed the opportunity to have a behind the scenes visit to a traditional boulangerie where they learned the secrets of producing a perfect baguette and tried their hands at rolling croissants. Afterwards the students were able to sample delicious pain au chocolat, piping hot and crumbly from the oven.
The trip included lots of fun activities; a visit to the Boulogne “Nautica” sea life centre, followed by a journey home with a menagerie of cuddly fish purchased in the gift shop and an afternoon at the “Aqualud” water park where students sped down slippery slides.
As the theme park was closed due to a power cut the group were thrilled to head to Belgium where they experienced extreme rides at the Bellewaerde theme park near Ypres. The visit also included a visit to the Le Breussant Chocolate factory where the owner explained how to make the perfect chocolate while students watched drooling, wondering when he was going to let them taste some samples.
The students were superb ambassadors for Woodham Academy and even a three hour delay at Calais on the way home could not dampen their enthusiasm. It was a wonderful week.
