8 July 2016

Dear Parents and Carers

Key Stage 4 French Trip to Château de la Baudonnière

We are delighted to offer the possibility of a residential trip to the Château de la Baudonnière in Normandy next year. This trip is intended for students who are currently in Year 9 who will be continuing their French studies at GCSE level. We believe that this trip will provide an outstanding learning opportunity, that it will enthuse students and have a positive impact on their GCSE performance.

We ran this trip for the first time in February 2014 and again in 2015 and 2016. Our students were enthused by all aspects of the trip and comments included the following: “I really enjoyed the trip and it definitely helped me with my range of vocabulary in French and my pronunciation. Having people talking to you ENTIRELY in French really did make a difference. I had so much fun and I learnt lots! I want to go back!!”

Key Information

Dates:29January – 3 February 2017

Centre: Château de la Baudonnière, Normandy

Company:Castaway Travel

Cost: £475

The Château de la Baudonnière is a French language immersion centre which offers language programmes to English school students of all levels ranging from beginners to A Level. It is situated in Normandy in the region of La Manche, 90 minutes from Cherbourg. We will be working with the Château team to tailor a programme of activities which will be of interest to our students and keep them busy from first thing in the morning until 9 o’clock at night! Activities on offer include the famous and very muddy parcours de santé (assault course), archery, fencing and bread making. The Château team organise evening entertainment such as quizzes, treasure hunts and talent shows. We also have a day out and intend to visit a goat farm and cheese manufacturer as well as sample the pancakes in a crêperie. On our return journey we will stop in Bayeux and visit the Bayeux Tapestry.

Costs include:

• School to school return travel by coach and ferry with Brittany Ferries organized by Castaway

Travel

• 5 nights’ dormitory accommodation for students

• 3 good French meals a day

• Full programme of activities, visits, lessons and evening entertainment

• Guiding, French tuition and activity instruction from the Château team of French native animateurs

• Transport for all visits

• Entrance to the Bayeux Tapestry and to the goat farm and cheese factory

• Workbooks, equipment and teaching materials

• Comprehensive Public Liability Insurance

Not included:

• Meals on the journey in both directions

• Pocket money

To secure a place on the trip, please return the reply slip and make the first deposit as detailed below.

Payment Schedule:

  • The first deposit will be £175 and is due by 21 July.
  • The second payment of £150 is due by 23 September.
  • The final payment of £150 is due by 25 November.

You may of course make your payments before these deadlines, but we do request that you meet the deadlines so that we in turn can make our payments to the Château. Please make payment via the online sQuid system.Please be aware that by making a deposit payment, a commitment to making all further payments for the trip is made. The only viable reason for cancellation is a medical condition that was not evident at the time of signing up for the trip. Please contact Mrs Clay if your child has any pre-existing health issues by Thursday 21 July. All students will require their own passport and EHIC card. If your child is a non-EU citizen, please contact Mrs Dowling as soon as possible to discuss possible visa arrangements.

We understand that circumstances may arise that can result in you needing to cancel your child’s place. As we incur cost from the time that you confirm your child’s place, the cancellation charges shown below will be applied, unless there is a medical reason and a doctor’s certificate which will confirm this. All cancellations must be notified to us in writing and charges will apply from the date this notification is received.

Period before departure which written cancellation is received / Amount of cancellation charged as a percentage of trip price
Deposit but more than 70 days / Deposit only
70 – 35 days / 60%
34 – 14 days / 75%
14 – 2 days / 90%
Less than 1 day / 100%

We will be discussing the trip during French lessons very soon. Please do take some time to discuss with your child whether this trip would be suitable for them. To gain more information about the Château, please refer to the website Your child can also, of course, talk to Year 10 students who went on the trip this year or look at the display outside the library to see pictures of previous years’ trips.

You should be aware that your child will be offered other trips throughout the year, examples of which are Snowdon (GCSE Geography), WWI Battlefields and the Wind Orchestra trip to Croatia. In addition, the Ski trip is offered to Years 9, 10 and 11. Please contact Mrs Clay at if you would like to hear more about these trips and estimated costs before you commit to payment.

A presentation for parents and students will be organised before the trip to give you more details.

However, if you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at the college.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Dowling

Trip Leader

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Please complete and return this slip to Mrs Clay before Thursday 21 July.

I would like my son/daughter ……………………………………………………………… Tutor Group ………………………

to be included in the party for the Château de la Baudonnière trip from 29 January – 3 February 2017.

I understand that the first £175 deposit is non-refundable and forms a binding commitment between myself and the trip organisers to pay the balance.

□ I have paid via the online sQuid system (please tick the box)

Signed…………………………………………………………………………………..