Year 8 “Languages Detectives” Normandy, France 8th – 11th March 2013

The Party The Staff Group Leader – Mrs Williams, Curriculum Leader MFL/ form tutor/FA Mr Wright – Curriculum Leader Maths/form tutor Mr Norman – Humanities Teacher/ form tutor Mr Le Play – French Teacher/form tutor/ FA Miss Clements – Progress Leader, English Teacher Miss Reeve – College Co- ordinator/ FA Mrs Hardington – Data Manager/Advanced FA The Students  70 Year 8 students from across the form groups  42 girls  28 boys

Purpose of the Trip Active learning: Practical situations promote better retention of the new language learned. Real and relevant: The situations are designed around the area where your group stays. Independent learning: Pupils are encouraged to interact with other people in the foreign environment to discover for themselves the answers to questions posed. Practical Langage activities include: Mémo personnel, Map, Postcard Activity, Wordsearch, Dans la rue, Food diary, Fiche linguistique, Diary, Vocabulary, Presentation. Differentiated work: Each workbook contains work at standard and extended level.

The Company PGL is the UK’s leading provider of activity courses and holidays for schools, colleges, youth groups and individual children and young people, with 25 centres spread across the UK, France and Spain. PGL operate an extensive programme of cultural, language and sports tours for schools to UK and European destinations. PGL is widely recognised as the UK’s original and biggest operator of summer camps. In this context our name became known as “Parents Get Lost”, but we now also operate a programme of family holidays so that parents can come too! 2007 was their 50th Anniversary year, so there is a tremendous amount of experience invested in all of their courses, tours and holidays. They have an excellent & they continue to build on their expertise – ensuring that the experiences they offer are safe, friendly, exciting, educational, challenging and fun! To find out more about the company please visit their website –

Travel Details Air Conditioned Coaches Reclining passenger seats Fully compliant seat belts Video or DVD, radio, tape or CD and microphone Fridge and hot drinks machine Washroom / toilet Double glazing Air suspension Air conditioning at no extra charge

Accommodation Details The 19th Century château has benefitted from extensive redevelopment and refurbishment. It has become PGL's centre for excellence providing an authentic experience of France, while the group still benefits from all the friendliness and security only a PGL centre can offer. Outstanding excursions, the Language Detectives study options, a high standard of accommodation and free on-site adventure activities all combine to give you an unsurpassable French experience.

Pupils' rooms: pupils share 4-8 bedded rooms, in bunk beds with en suite facilities or toilet and shower facilities on the same floor. Boules pitches Classrooms Disco Extensive grounds Games machines Internet access Large screen Pool tables Teachers' bar Teachers' lounge Table football Shop Sports hall On-site activity bases Boules pitches Classrooms Disco Extensive grounds Games machines Internet access Large screen Pool tables Teachers' bar Teachers' lounge Table football Shop Sports hall On-site activity bases

Travel details Friday 8 th March 2013 Pupils need to be at school at 0215h (Coach available for loading) The coach will depart at 0245h and head for Dover. We recommend that students take a packed lunch for the journey. We are booked on to a ferry at 0825h however we could take an earlier ferry. We should arrive in Calais at 1100h and we will make several stops en route. We aim to arrive at Château de Tertre at 1800h with time to unpack before our evening meal and evening entertainment. Time to settle in to our rooms then lights out!

Travel details Saturday 9th March 2013 After breakfast we will visit the nearby town of Mayenne where pupils will complete an activity called Préparez à manger. After lunch we will visit the bakery at Ambrières where we will bake croissants and bread + tasting!!! The afternoon will be spent in the town completing interviews with the locals – in French! Back at the Château there will be time to relax freshen up before dinner then there will be evening entertainment and time to relax in the social lounge.

Travel details Sunday 10th March 2013 After breakfast we will visit be heading off to the beautiful town of Fougères and its magnificent castle. We will then head off to Mont St Michel for some site seeing and a chance to buy some souvenirs. Back at the Château there will be time to pack our cases and get ready for dinner and a disco!

Travel details Monday 11th March After breakfast we will load our cases on to the coach and head off for Calais. We hope to stop at Cité d’Europe shopping centre we can eat and browse around the shops before heading for the Eurotunnel at 1650h. We hope to arrive back at Ibstock at 2130h however we will ask pupils to call you to confirm when we are back in the UK.

Facilities

Packed Lunch All meals at the Château are included – there is a self service canteen with 3 or 4 options in the evening including vegetarian options. Breakfast is also self service and includes fruit, cereals, croissants, baguettes et and a variety of hot drinks & juices. When we are out and about a substantial packed lunch is provided including a filled baguette, crisps, cake, fruit and juice.

Spending Money Spending money – this is up to the individual, however please bear in mind that all excursions are included in the price of the trip. We suggest £20 (2 x £10) to cover travel time in the UK – (this should be in the student’s hand luggage) and approx 20 euros per day in France. Please split the money into envelopes, seal and label and hand them to Mr Norman before the students embark the coach. Each morning, the students will have the opportunity to take their daily envelope. This will prevent all money being spent at once and/or loss of money during the trip. There will be opportunities to buy souvenirs and do some shopping at Cité Europe.

Valuables As with all school trips pupils must take full responsibility for their own valuables so whenever possible keep them to a minimum and look after them please. Ipods and other expensive equipment can be used on the journey to and from France but should be left at the Château during the day. We accept that students will want to take mobile phones and cameras but students must be aware that they may be asked to turn them off at certain times during the visit. Also, it is very expensive to call/receive calls & texts from France. Please contact your mobile phone company for roaming charges. A safe arrival in Normandy text and a confirmation of arrival home time should be sufficient for this short trip.

Medication If your son/daughter requires any medication during the trip please place in a bag or small plastic box, label with their name and dosage instructions. This will be kept with one or more of the First aiders at all times. If your son/daughter requires an inhaler/epipen etc please ensure that they have one in their hand luggage and we are given any spares.

Don’t Forget Any outstanding payments – now overdue! Valid UK Passport and Ehic card. – We are now collecting them. They will be kept in the safe until we leave. If you prefer to keep yours until the 8 th March please provide a photocopy of both documents as soon as possible. Money in Euros (in separate envelopes) with approx £20 GBP for the return journey Camera – there will be a host of photo opportunities Packed Lunch for the outward bound journey. 1 piece of hand luggage and 1 case to go in the hold. Please bring a towel to use after a shower as the Chateau does not provide any! A clipboard and some pens/pencils A european adapter plug and phone/ipod charger Age appropriate DVDs for the journey – U, PG or 12/12a

Suggested Kit List Two pairs of comfortable shoes/trainers A waterproof jacket Nightwear - Toilet bag – toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, hair brush, pack of tissues A towel (shower) Jumper/sweatshirt Underwear and socks Tops/shirts Jeans/Trousers Something for the disco!