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French language school trip to Château de la Baudonnière, Lower Normandy

Based within the grounds of our own magical Château, students spend the week enjoying a varied set of on-site activities led in French by a native French-speaking animateur.

  • Voyager owned
  • Key stage 2 – 16+
  • Native French animateurs
  • Sep - Nov / Feb - Jul
  • Evening entertainment
  • Workbooks
  • Carbon offset
Overview

A unique French language residential for school groups

This unique programme encourages students to listen and practise their French from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave, whether it’s working together to build a raft, brave the obstacle course, or Bake Off in bread making—everything is delivered in French by our native French animateur team. Our charming Château nestled in the Normandy countryside has been welcoming students for over 30 years. Its extensive grounds provide the perfect safe environment for learners to improve their language skills and confidence through a range of on-site activities—all taught in French by our native-speaking animateurs.

To ensure each learner receives individual attention & support, all activities are taught in groups of twelve or less and each student is given a language workbook to help reinforce vocabulary & grammar. Off-site excursions are designed to give students valuable exposure to the culturally-rich region and range from visits to local goats cheese farms to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mont Saint-Michel. This trip allows teachers to take a back seat as the animateur team expertly lead their students through un séjour français, from petit déjeuner right through to evening entertainment—entirely in French!

New for 2023! French school exchange programme allows students to meet French school groups at the Château.

This trip links to the MFL curriculum. Find out how →
Itinerary

This is a typical 6-day itinerary

As one of our most established programmes, your trip shouldn't differ too much from this sample itinerary.

Day 1

  • Arrive and meet the animateur team who will look after your students
  • Dinner and evening activities conducted in French  

Day 2 - Full day of activities led in French by your animateur

  • Centre orientation
  • Fencing
  • Bread making
  • French games and evening activities with animateurs

Day 3 - Local cultural excursions in French

  • Arromanches town visit
  • D-Day landing beaches 
  • Arromanches 360 Cinema
  • French games and evening activities with animateurs

Day 4 - Full day of French activities 

  • Archery
  • Team games
  • French costume and French quiz night

Day 5 - Full day of activities led in French by your animateur

  • Aeroball
  • Assault course
  • Farewell party 

Day 6

  • Town market visit to pick up souvenirs
  • Depart
  • Arrive home
Location

Nestled in Normandy

Situated an hour and a half south of Cherbourg, our Château nestles in 100 acres of its own grounds which incorporate a lake, mini farm, assault course, orchard, climbing wall, archery range, tennis court, fencing strip and boule pitch. Students stay in gender-specific en-suite bunk rooms in accommodation blocks throughout the chateau grounds whilst teachers stay in en-suite twin bedrooms.

Click here for more information about this residential centre owned by Voyager School Travel.

Resources

Ready-made resources to get your trip off the ground

These ready-made trip resources are designed to reduce your admin and help speed up the process of planning, promoting and getting approval for your trip:

Activities
Climbing activity photo
Climbing
Exercices dinitiative
Team-building games
Assault course at the Chateau v2
Obstacle course
Kayak
Kayaking
archery on school trips case study
Robin Hood
activities Photography
Photo developing
activities Aeroball
Aeroball
Teenagers making bread
Bread making
Circus skills
Circus skills
activities Orienteering
Orienteering
Tank arromanches beach
Arromanches Excursion
Mont Saint Michel
Mont Saint-Michel Excursion
Saint Malo
Saint-Malo Excursion
Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Excursion
Bell
Villedieu-Les-Poêles
Dinan France
Dinan Excursion
Granville
Granville Excursion
Caen memorial sculpture
Caen Memorial Museum
French language immersion school trip to the Opal Coast of France
Local French Market
Omaha Beach monument
Local Beaches
Normandy american cemetery and memorial
WWII Cemeteries
Climbing activity photo

Climbing

Climbing sessions take place at the centre's own climbing wall which is suitable for students of any age. After issuing equipment and explaining the safety procedures, the students will climb various paths on the wall. They will use commands in French to each other and will learn French words for movements and parts of the body.

Exercices dinitiative

Team-building games

On location in the beautiful grounds, tasks are set for each group to encourage the students to work together. These team-building and problem-solving activities are challenging, fun and require good communication skills and a lot of team spirit.

Assault course at the Chateau v2

Obstacle course

This popular session is held on our purpose-built obstacle course in the Château grounds. Explanations are done in French and pupils repeat action statements before being allowed to do each obstacle. Ideal for practising popular verbs and the use of prepositions. Usually rather wet and muddy, the students enjoy finishing off the session with a run against the clock and a dip in the river!

Kayak

Kayaking

Kayaking sessions are conducted on the beautiful on-site lake. Simple instructions are given in French and the students will master various skills in a very safe and fun environment. Students should be confident in water, but do not need to be excellent swimmers for this activity.

archery on school trips case study

Robin Hood

Students get the chance to be a Robin Hood. After the obligatory safety talk and explanation of the equipment, the students shoot the arrows onto targets, an excellent opportunity to practise numbers and directions in the target language.

activities Photography

Photo developing

This activity is designed to enhance the students’ knowledge of French while capturing an image from their activity, be it a leaf or a flower or their very own design. Using our dark room we can develop the image onto paper for the students to take away with them.

activities Aeroball

Aeroball

Aeroball is a fun, totally unique sport! The trampoline-basketball-volleyball game is suitable for all ages and is played by two teams of 2. Simple instructions are given in French and the students will have the chance to learn/practise the vocabulary for the body parts. It’s also a great opportunity to practise the numbers (scoring and counting down the end of the match). Aeroball is quickly becoming a favourite activity for students and teachers alike!

Teenagers making bread

Bread making

Suitable for all ages bread making is not just a case of making bread, it’s also a golden opportunity to practise your singing talents, as we sing French songs. Students will be guided from the very beginning with simple French instructions. From the measuring of the flour to the kneading of the bread, this activity will keep their enthusiasm going throughout. They will even get to taste the fruits of their hard work as their bread will be baked in time for the evening meal.

Circus skills

Circus skills

Enables pupils to discover the art of circus on an artistic as well as technical level. Students are introduced to juggling, diabolo and other circus equipment in a fun and educational manner. The French spoken during this activity is very varied and is based on using the names of the equipment (stick, balls, diabolo...), action verbs (to walk, to move...), directions (left, right, up, down...), colours (orange, red, green...), numbers (one, two, three...).

activities Orienteering

Orienteering

The students will be taught map reading in French using orienteering games and courses in the Château grounds. As well as using French language for features, directions and map symbols the team orienteering challenges will involve other French language quizzes along with finding the control markers.

Tank arromanches beach

© Barry Skeates

Arromanches Excursion

Arromanches is at the heart of the D-Day Landings. There are museums with vivid and emotive displays, including the famous 360° cinema with unreleased footage from war correspondents, filmed on D-Day. There is also the Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches Les Bains, built on the site of the Mulberry Harbour, with working models and film to explain this incredible technical feat.

Mont Saint Michel

Mont Saint-Michel Excursion

This island and its surrounding bay are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Scale the cobblestoned streets to reach the churches and the famous gothic-style abbey. Groups with an Animateur will experience a guided barefoot walk across the bay, which is a highlight for students.

Saint Malo

Saint-Malo Excursion

Saint-Malo is a historic walled city with a surrounding beach. Central to the cobblestoned old town is the Roman Catholic Saint-Malo Cathedral. Popular visits also include the town museum and the Great Aquarium, home to 11,000 marine animals.

Bayeux Tapestry

Bayeux Excursion

Famous as the home of the 70 metre-long Bayeux Tapestry, the medieval town is also home to the largest British military cemetery in France, making it a key destination for groups studying the history of conflict.

Bell

© David Joyce

Villedieu-Les-Poêles

Just 15 minutes from Château de la Baudonnière, groups can visit the town's Bell Foundry, Copper Workshop and Pewter Museum. It is rich in history and has a bustling morning market every Tuesday.

Dinan France

Dinan Excursion

Visiting Dinan is like taking your students back in time. This medieval walled town is full of charm thanks to its 13th-century castle, river, narrow streets and magnificently preserved timber clad buildings.

Granville

Granville Excursion

The seaside resort of Granville is a historic fishing port with views towards Jersey and Guernsey. Students of fashion and design will be particularly interested in visiting Musée Christian Dior to tour the exhibition housed in the fashion designer's childhood home.

Caen memorial sculpture

Caen Memorial Museum

The port city of Caen features a castle built by William the Conquerer but is of most interest to our groups for the Caen Memorial Museum, which is an essential stop for students studying WWII and the Battle for Caen. There is also a section on the Cold War.

French language immersion school trip to the Opal Coast of France

Local French Market

A chance for students to be immersed in local culture and produce and to pick up some souvenirs, a visit to the market is a great opportunity for learners to interact in French with the welcoming stall owners.

Omaha Beach monument

Local Beaches

If you'd like to factor in some time for your group on the beach, your animateur will be happy to organise a picnic or beach games on one of Normandy's many sandy beaches. Your animateur can also lead a coastal walk where students learn about the local wildlife.

Normandy american cemetery and memorial

WWII Cemeteries

There are many cemeteries in France which serve as poignant memorials to the fallen of WWII. Visits to these sites complement History tours and allow students to gain a greater understanding of the loss of life and the human effects of the war.

Included

Our French language immersion programme includes:

  • A fun programme of student activities led in French by our own highly trained team of French-native animateurs
  • On-site adventure activities, such as climbing and assault course, French lessons, games and all evening entertainment
  • French language activity workbook per student
  • Full board and lodging
  • Your choice of return travel
  • Coach for off-site visits and excursions
  • Private lounge areas for teachers
  • Evening wind-down activities for teachers such as cheese and wine tasting
  • Free teacher to student ratio approx. 1:10
  • 24-hour emergency support
  • Subsidised centre inspection visit for two adults
  • The opportunity to carbon offset your trip.

 Extras to budget for:

  • Comprehensive travel insurance
  • Meals on journeys
  • School to airport transfers (if required)
  • Supplements for small groups, single teacher rooms and additional adults
  • Off-site excursions
When to visit

There is a waiting list of schools who want to stay at the Château in the peak season from June–July, with first priority given to re-bookers, so we strongly recommend that first-time bookers take a trip to the Château outside of these months.

The spring term is the most affordable time to experience our market-leading programme and offers a greater choice of student activities.

Travel in the autumn term if you are looking to kick start your students’ French learning after the long summer break or to get your new Year 7 students working well together as a group. Alternatively, KS4 and KS5 students visiting in the middle of the school year will benefit from invaluable practise before their French oral exams.

Gallery

From

£468 pp
5 day/4 night stay with animateurs & all on-site activities 
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Chateau inspection visit

Book an inspection visit

Join us on a subsidised visit to see the Château programme in action.

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Meet our animateurs!

Our French-native team of professional animateurs will accompany you throughout the school trip.

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I have been on 27 outbound trips and this one was by far the best. The Château has a unique way of developing the children and should be really proud of this.
Lynne, French Teacher, Kew College

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