Look out France! On arrive!

By Elaine Kelly | Posted: Thursday September 19, 2024

I am delighted to announce that the Board of Trustees has approved the organisation of a French Language and Culture trip to France from the 2nd to the 18th of January 2026.

This trip will be a two-centre trip, where students spend 4 nights in Paris upon arrival in France. Here they will have the chance to see all the top tourist sites, visit interesting museums, and participate in a macaron-making workshop before heading south to the wonderful city of Lyon.

Lyon has a rich cultural heritage, is known as the centre of French gastronomy, and for its charming old town and numerous Roman ruins. It is a bustling city that mixes the modern with the ancient in a charming fashion. 

In Lyon, students will be billeted with French families and we will link with a local French Lycee and a private language school. This part of the trip will be a fantastic opportunity for boys to immerse themselves in the French language. They will do this by attending school in France for a couple of days and shadowing the student from the French family that they live with. Small group private language lessons will also be given during the other mornings at the language school and of course, evenings and the weekend will be spent with the French family getting a true taste of life in France. In the afternoons in Lyon, the group will come back together and go on various excursions to get to know this beautiful city and region.

This trip is open to boys who are studying French at the time of departure. Boys who are currently in Years 9, 10, and 11 would be eligible, as long as they have completed Year 10 French and have committed to or have studied French up to NCEA level 1. This is to ensure that they can cope with the language demands of staying with a family. The trip going ahead will be dependent upon numbers and priority will be given to boys studying French in the senior school.

At this stage, I simply wish to ask for expressions of interest, to have an idea of the demand for such a trip. An information evening will be held in Term 4 for interested families. Please email me, giving your son’s name at [email protected]