Leaving very early on Monday 8th July the link road was open and we had a smooth journey to Portsmouth. The ferry took 5 hours to Caen/Ouistreham and students seemed to enjoy the journey with some going to the cinema, some sleeping, some playing card games and quite a few bought Lego sets which kept them entertained for a few hours!
We arrived at our accommodation at about 4pm and headed to the beach to burn off some energy (I don’t know where they got it from having been up since 1am!!)
The next day it was raining on and off so we altered our plans stating the day at a street market at Courseulles-sur-mer where students were given €10 to spend in the market. They came back with a wonderful array of souvenirs and food to supplement their packed lunch. In the afternoon we headed off to Arromanches (which is twinned with Instow) where we visited the 360 museum to watch an incredible film which tells the story of the D-Day landings. We then travelled to the Memorial museum in Caen where students immersed themselves more in the history of the area. On our return to the centre, we went to the beach where students took part in a range of activities.
On Wednesday, we went to the Bayeux tapestry which tells the story of the Norman conquest then enjoyed some free time in Bayeux in the local market where a long line formed by a gentleman who was selling engraved glasses – he sold out!
Our afternoon was spent visiting a variety of war cemeteries which were each moving, emotional and beautiful in their own way. From the Commonwealth cemetery which is like an English garden, to the German cemetery which is sombre, to the American war cemetery which has nearly 10,000 beautiful white marble crosses laid out in perfect rows.
In the evening, it was the Euro semi-finals match, half the students chose to watch and the other half hung out in their rooms or played outside. Everyone was thrilled at the last minute goal and none more so than the teachers who were thrilled it didn’t go to extra time!!
On Thursday we drove to Mont St Michel which is an iconic island just off the coast with an abbey at the top. Students were given free time to explore the busy streets and to take in the wonderful views before returning to the hostel where we had snail tasting. Luckily there were 3 students who were happy to go first (letting Miss Upsdale off the hook!) and before we knew it, all the snails had gone. Some loved the snails and others (like Miss Parsons) hated them!
On Friday, having packed up their belongings, we headed off for a quick bit of shopping at Caen and stopped on the way at the new British war memorial which was incredibly moving and beautiful. We then stopped near Pegasus bridge which was the first place to be liberated in France and we were fortunate enough to see it lift up which does not happen very often! From there, we went to a shopping centre which includes a huge Carrefour supermarket so that students could spend their last euros. We arrived at the ferry port just after 2.30pm where we started our journey home, arriving into Barnstaple just before 2am.
Students (and staff!) all seemed to have a marvellous trip and enjoyed being with their friends, the experience of being in France, learning about French culture and the role of Normandy in World War 2.
Thank you so much to the parents and carers for supporting their children to attend the trip, thank you to the staff for giving up their time to make this trip possible and thank you to the students themselves for being so wonderfully behaved, polite, courteous and fun!
