Year 7 French Trip November 2010

The first half of the year 7 day trip to France started on a bitterly cold morning at the end of November. Sixty boys, their parents and staff arrived at school at 5.30 in the morning - luckily the coach was already there and the boys got on to keep warm leaving their poor, freezing parents waiting to wave them off.

At last the coach set off for Dover and the euro tunnel which was exciting as many of the boys were travelling on it for the first time.

The day was bright and clear so we took the opportunity to experience a French activity area on the beach - which was a lovely opportunity for everyone to get some fresh air after going into the Marine eco-centre in Boulogne. We were all impressed by the range of marine exhibitions on display, the Rays and Sharks swimming under a glass floor and the penguin enclosure, before going into the cinema to see a 3d film about marine pollution which had sharks, jelly fish and other things coming out of the screen at us. The boys also spent some time in the lecture theatre to take part in a survey about home energy consumption. They came up with a figure for their annual carbon footprint which brought home the reality of global warming. They realised that even a small change in their lifestyle - such as switching off their TV instead of leaving it on standby would make a difference to their total carbon footprint over their lifetime.

As a complete contrast we then went to a shopping mall where we had lunch at a Flunch restaurant and all felt a bit guilty about enjoying the material world and increasing our carbon footprint shopping. Staff were impressed with how the boys behaved through the day and how generous they were when spending their money - although they laughed when we suggested they buy a little gift for their favourite teachers! After an uneventful trip home we all arrived exhausted at the College, to waiting parents and a well earned sleep.

Thanks to the sixth formers and staff who helped out with the trip and Mrs Keys who organised it all, a great day was had by all.