Thursday, 21st March – Roméo, Marius, Gustave
Today, we stayed in Hertford. This morning, we went to Richard Hale School. First, we went to registration and then to class with our exchange partners. We started with a French class with all the Year 9 students in the hall. They asked us questions in French and after that some of us presented the school as well as Nantes and its region. Next, I followed my partner in his PE class.
| After break, we went to Abel Smith elementary school to talk to the Year 5 kids. We asked and answered their questions to learn more about them.
My favourite moment today was in the primary school because I found our exchange with the school kids very beautiful. Roméo |
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After lunch, we went to Hertford Castle. The foundations of the castle date back to 1066. The current town hall is located there. The mayor is chosen by the other councillors and remains mayor for one year. We met the current mayoress. She doesn’t have a real political power but she takes part in events and ceremonies like Remembrance Day on 11th November. On these occasions, she wears a heavy golden chain with the names of former mayors. We watched a video about the castle’s history, visited the building and had tea and biscuits with the mayoress and her team. Marius
Wednesday, 20th March – Pauline, Maëlle, Quentin, Paul, Ethan, Malo, Benjamin
This morning, we went to the Natural History Museum before going to the Science Museum.
Then we took the Tube to Green Park station and had a picnic in Saint James’s Park. After lunch, we walked to Buckingham Palace, then Whitehall where we saw the Prime Minister’s house and eventually Parliament Square where we saw the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We took a double decker bus to Piccadilly Circus where we had some free time. Finally, we got home by train, as we always do. Pauline, Maëlle, Quentin
Our favourite moment was at the Science Museum. We saw a lot of things like planes and rockets and we spent some time on the first level dedicated to medicine. We also enjoyed educational games at the same level. Pauline and Maëlle
My favourite moment today was in Saint James’s Park because we saw squirrels and I took pictures of squirrels and pelicans! Quentin
| This afternoon, we saw Buckingham Palace, the residence of the British monarchs. It has been the official residence of King Charles III since Queen Elizabeth II died. It is an old building from the 18th and 19th centuries. In front of the palace, there is the amazing Victoria Memorial with a statue of Queen Victoria under a golden angel of Victory. When the King is in residence, a flag is flown. Near the residence, there are 3 large and beautiful gates paid for by former English colonies and members of the Commonwealth: Canada, Australia and South Africa. Paul |  |
From 3:30 to 5 pm, we had some free time in Leicester Square where there is the M&M’s shop, the Lego store, souvenir shops and fast-food restaurants. Malo
My favourite moment was the free time in central London because we went to Chinatown. It is a Chinese neighbourhood with Chinese markets, shops, bakeries and restaurants. Ethan
Tuesday, 19th March – Victor, Jad, Suzie, Julien, Violette
Today, we walked along the south bank of the River Thames on Queen’s walk. We saw Tower Bridge, the well-known white and blue bascule bridge. We ate street food like hot dogs, chips, ice cream and churros, it was delicious. And at the end of the day, we saw London Eye, the big Ferris wheel, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, the famous clock tower. Victor
I liked the narrow food alleys in Borough Market because they were filled with amazing food, mostly cheese and seafood. I also liked the view we had from London Bridge: we took pictures of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, which was first built by William the Conqueror in 1066. Jad
| At noon, we went on a guided tour at the Shakespeare Globe, which is a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theatre. The theatre can accommodate 3000 people (1000 standing in the yard and 2000 people seated). In the 16-17th centuries, theatres were the main places of entertainment and they were banned during the Puritan period. Suzie
At the time, the cheapest tickets (people standing in the Yard) were 1 penny but some rich people paid 10 pence to sit on the balcony above the stage in order to be seen, even if they didn’t see well. I think this is really strange! Julien |
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After lunch, we went to the Tate Modern, a modern and contemporary art gallery which was originally a power station. There are works of art by Yoko Ono, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Picasso…
We had to choose an artwork that we liked. I chose Untitled #5 made by Agnes Martin in 1994. It is a painting made with acrylic paint and graphite on canvas. Agnes Martin said: “I want people, when they look at my paintings, to have the same feelings they experience when they look at a landscape.” Violette
Monday, 18th March – Ambre, Iris and Olivia
Today, we went to Cambridge with our English exchange partners. We saw a lot of colleges and buildings like King’s College Chapel which is famous for its Christmas Carols and Trinity College which was founded by Henry VIII in 1546. We also saw the second oldest pub in Cambridge called The Eagle where two scientists Francis Crick and James Watson announced they had ‘discovered the secret of life’, when they identified the structure of DNA in 1953.
We visited St John’s College because Mrs Tyldesley, one of the English teachers, studied there. It is a very beautiful building: there is a bridge called the Bridge of Sighs like in Venice.
After that, we had some free time and so we went shopping and had lunch. I bought gifts for my mom and friends. It was my favourite moment. I really enjoyed it. My friends and I almost got lost but we eventually made it to Market Square. I loved the feeling of freedom in the city and the fact that we heard a lot of English and other languages. Ambre
Our favourite moment was the punting on the river Cam because we had many different views on Cambridge and we learned a lot about the city’s history sitting on the 4 large punts. Iris and Olivia
Weekend – Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th March
During the weekend, I went to a Scouts camp. We made campfires, built structures, cooked food (outside) and went on chariot races. I enjoyed making food because it was pretty easy and because I did it with Jake, my English exchange partner, who is really funny. Jad
| On Saturday morning, I ran 5 miles with Curtis and with a lot of other people in Stratford. In the afternoon, we went bowling and ate at the restaurant with other French and English students. On Sunday, we watched our partners’ football game and I played football with Curtis. Paul
On Saturday, I went to hospital for my big toe and then I went bowling with Malo, Paul and our exchange partners. On Sunday, I went to see Harvey and Curtis’s football game with Paul. Roméo |
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We went to London on Saturday. We had a brunch, played bowling, went to a park and had a drink in a pub. On Sunday, we played golf, which I liked because I won, we also went to the video arcade, played basketball and eventually watched the movie Taxi with Ralph and Maëlle. Quentin
During the weekend, I played basketball, went for a walk around a lake, went to a shopping centre, to a church, and played with friends of Avin’s, which is what I liked the most. On Sunday morning, I had an English breakfast consisting of beans, bacon and eggs; we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and we had fish and chips in the evening. Victor
On Saturday we had an afternoon tea in Hertford. On Sunday we went to the pub and walked along the river. I really enjoyed the meals I shared with my host family because it is when I talked English the most and when I learned most about them. Iris
On Saturday, we played indoor mini golf and afterwards, we went to a kind of indoor funfair. We won a lot of sweets with Julien thanks to the tickets we won. This is what I enjoyed most! Benjamin
What I liked most this weekend was bowling because it was the first time I had played. On Saturday, I had very good pancakes for breakfast and fish and chips for dinner, which I really liked. Suzie
During the weekend, we played darts with Iris, Ambre and our exchange partners and went shopping afterwards. I enjoyed playing darts because it was a lot of fun and I had never played before. On Sunday, I went tree climbing with Murray and his brothers. I liked it too even if it was raining. I also enjoyed watching the rugby game because France won against England! Olivia