Bonjour! On Friday 20th September, 60 Year 9 students embarked on an exciting day trip to Boulogne-Sur-Mer in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, a 30-minute drive south from the tunnel at Calais. We set off early and travelled taking the shuttle under the Channel. For some students (and staff), it was their first experience of travelling under the sea in the tunnel.

We began our day with the visit of a traditional 'Boulangerie' in Escoeuilles where students learnt to make bread from one of the oldest bakeries in the region - some of the bread still being made ‘à l’ancienne’ in a very old and deep brick oven. They also tried some delicious pains au chocolat freshly made for them earlier that morning.

Students were then able to explore the old town centre of Boulogne-sur-mer, where they used their language skills to buy souvenirs and snacks and enjoy the soleil!

After lunch, we visited the most well-known chocolate factory in Northern France where students had the opportunity to learn more about the art of chocolate making of the 'Chocolats de Beussent' and were lucky enough to taste the chocolate.

Finally, we spent some time in Cité Europe, which is a huge shopping centre, before making our way home late at night. It was a FANTASTIQUE day, and all students had a great time. During both visits, our group was complimented for their politeness and exemplar behaviour. Well Done! C'était super!

We would also like to express a warm thank you to all staff accompanying the trip as such a trip would not be possible without their help.

À bientôt!

I really enjoyed the trip to France, it was a lovely experience that I am honoured to have been selected for. My favourite activity was being able to have some free time with my friends in the town! I also really enjoyed the chocolate factory! It was very organised and I felt very safe. I had a great time! Thank you!
Alice 9W

Bonjour,
The French trip was amazing and I loved every moment of it. I never thought I would go to a different country with my school but I did and I’m very grateful. My favourite moments were the chocolate factory and bakery and also talking to people in French. It was one of the best trips of my life and I made a lot of memories with teachers and my friends that I will always remember. Merci beaucoup!
Luiza 9S

The French trip was AMAZING! I especially loved the architecture of the church in Boulogne that we saw whilst walking on the high street. I enjoyed trying to order Orangina drink in French and it was also fun to try and understand what the baker and the chocolatier were saying. Merci!
Asel 9W

I loved going to France. It was so much fun, and it was so amazing to see all the different places. I loved going to the bakery and seeing how everything was made (and making the bread!). The chocolate factory was also very interesting, and I loved trying the chocolate! I loved socializing on the coach and tasting delicious pastries with my family that I’d got from France. Thank you so much Miss Flaender! Merci beaucoup!
Phoebe 9F

The French trip was very enjoyable, eventful and definitely memorable. Although we had to wake up at 4 in the morning and only arrived back at 11:30 at night, it was definitely worth it as that meant we were able to spend most of the day in France. I recommend participating in this trip if you study French as it boosted my understanding of the language. I would like to thank the Languages Faculty for organising this trip and all of the teachers who took us there.
Mia 9H

Hola! On Monday 1st July Year 10 students took part in an exciting trip to Francisco y la Luna a Spanish Tapas restaurant in Walthamstow. For some students (and staff), it was their first experience trying authentic Spanish tapas. Students were also able to practice their Spanish speaking skills with the Spanish restaurant staff and Señor Polo hosted a game of Spanish food Bingo to practice listening skills.

Speedily, our food was served by two welcoming waitresses. Served first was a piping hot tortilla, a potato omelette, it simple melted within our mouths. Next was the delectably fresh pan con tomate, a classic Spanish breakfast, which we devoured within minutes. Swiftly after, an array of other dishes was plated up to us, composed of fish balls which were sumptuous paired with a smooth and creamy garlic infused butter, crunchy croquettes and juicy calamari cooked to pure perfection. After this, we were plated up meatballs and sauce, which exploded flavour fireworks in our mouths. Our final dish was patatas bravas, which were deliciously light potatoes, accompanied with a flavoursome sauce. Our quick break involved Señor Polo’s extremely fun games, where Charlotte won both times. For dessert, we were given heavenly churros with decadent thick chocolate, and it was love at first bite. Overall, this was a very fun trip, and we can't wait to go again!

- Anisah 10F, Olivia 10G and Renae 10H

This trip was phenomenal, it was fun and the food was delicious. It was a wonderful experience and the food just kept on coming. It was nice to try new things and I would definitely want to go back especially for the churros which were decadent especially when dipped in the rich, smooth chocolate sauce.

- Khadija 10F

We went on a trip to a Spanish restaurant called ‘Don Francisco y La Luna’. We all had a wonderful time! I enjoyed a variety of spanish foods and the workers were very friendly and hardworking. My favourite dish was the freshly fried Patatas accompanied by a yellow garlic sauce that burst with flavours. Additionally, the Pan con Tomate was very crispy and seasoned perfectly with butter and garlic and we tried many more. Near to the end of the experience, our kind teacher treated us to some appetising, delicious, crispy churros! We really enjoyed every bite. We had the best time ever! 

Ayer, fuimos de viaje a un restaurante español se llama "Don Francisco y La Luna". ¡Todos nos lo pasamos de maravilla! Disfruté de una variedad de alimentos españoles y los trabajadores eran muy amables y trabajadores. Mi plato favorito eran las patatas recién fritas acompañadas de una salsa de ajo amarillo que estaba llena de sabores. Además, el Pan con Tomate estaba muy crujiente y sazonado perfectamente con mantequilla y ajo y probamos muchos más. ¡Cerca del final de la experiencia, nuestro amable profesor nos invitó a unos churros apetitosos, deliciosos y crujientes! Disfrutamos mucho de cada bocado. ¡Nos lo pasamos muy bien! 

- Saahra 10C

I really enjoyed the Spanish trip to the tapas restaurant. The waiters were really friendly, and the inside of the restaurant was extremely pretty! We got to try many different types of food from Spain which were all delicious and unique. My favourite food was the churros which were served with a mouth-watering chocolate sauce. Overall, the trip was a great way to end the year and I hope to go back soon!

- Nafeesah 10H

Visiting Don Francisco y la Luna was an enjoyable experience and a nice little trip away from school. We were glad to spend time with each other whilst being able to appreciate the Spanish food, which was considerably more plentiful than expected. Additionally, it was exciting to try food that we would not usually have for our lunches, experiencing a more Mediterranean diet.

- Greta 10F

Bonjour! On Tuesday 11th June, Year 10 students took part in an exciting trip to the French restaurant of Crêpes à la carte in Camden. For some students (and staff), it was their first experience trying authentic French crepes – especially the savoury ones! Students were also able to practice their French speaking skills with the French restaurant staff which gave them a boost for their upcoming speaking mock exams.

Merci beaucoup pour less crêpe. C'était très amusant et délicieux. La crème de la crème! J'adore ça ! Delza and I loved the crêpes. They were amazing and it was so much fun. It was nice being away from school and the stress of mocks so thank you very much. J'aimerais repartir à Crêpes à la carte. I would go again if possible.

By Yasmin and Delza

À la crêperie, ce que j’ai aimé le plus c'est la crêpe sucrée parce que c'était très délicieux. A mon avis, je n'ai pas aimé pas la crêpe de jambon. Et ça ne coûte pas cher. D'un autre côté, j'ai adoré la grenadine. Aussi, le voyage était très facile et tranquille.

At the creperie, what I liked the most was the sweet crepe because it was very delicious. In my opinion, I didn't like the ham crepe. And it doesn't cost much. On the other hand, I loved the grenadine. Also, the journey was very easy and peaceful.

By Shreya and Esma

The trip was very fun. C'était le top du top! The journey was short and efficient to get there, and the restaurant was very friendly and homelike. It was very cosy since there were sofas, and the staff were very polite and respectful. The service was quick, and the food was délicieux! Miam miam! The presentation was magnificent, and we enjoyed the experience of ordering food in French. We both thought the savoury crêpes were delicious and the sweet crêpes were amazing too.

By Julia and Aamanee

The trip was fun. Ce que j'ai aimé le plus (what I liked the most) was the sweet crepes! However, the savoury crepe biquette was not to my liking. Quel dommage! (What a shame)

The compléte crepe was délicieux, it had egg, turkey, and cheese. J'aimerais y retourner pour les crêpes sucrées. (I would like to go again for the sweet crepes)

By Tanisha and Mayesha

We really enjoyed the crepes and we thought it was a very eye-opening experience into French culture. Thank you for this opportunity.

By Ailidh, Nell, Chloe and Lulu

On pense que le voyage à la crêperie était fantastique! Nous avons un peu aimé la crêpe complète mais la crêpe sucrée était le top du top! Aussi, la serveuse était très sympa et le café était jolie. Le voyage était utile pour pratiquer le français dans la vie réelle. Si j’avais l’opportunité, je voudrais y retourner!

We think the trip to the creperie was fantastic! We kind of liked the ham and cheese crepe but the sweet crepe was the best! Also, the waitress was very friendly and the cafe was pretty. The trip was useful to practice French in real life. If I had the opportunity, I would like to go back!

By Rosanna and Maggie

Last Tuesday, I went to a Latin story telling workshop after school. We had biscuits and juice to start, followed by a story telling activity, and were given a Roman myth that we could interpret in our own way. Some people chose to draw while others wrote or acted out what the myth meant to us and what message it was trying to convey. I found the experience very fun and a good task for the Latin myth we might study at GCSE.

- Molly M 9H

I really enjoyed the experience of Latin club with Miss Cafe, it was really fun! We read a short story on Aracne, a talented weaver who got turned into a spider out of jealousy by her competitor. We acted out a scene based on the text whilst other people in our group narrated and drew. We also got biscuits and juice! Afterwards we wrote down what we thought of Aracne and how she would be portrayed in modern times. Overall it was an interesting activity in which I made a lot of friends.

- Julia Z R 9G

I really enjoyed the Latin myths cafe experience that happened earlier last week. When we came in we were greeted with some biscuits and juice while everyone sat down. As we got settled the professor talked about how Latin is more about understanding the text and developing your key knowledge about what is going on. She also talked about reading parts of a text but developing your own sort of version of the text and creating your own understanding. In the task each group read our own paragraph and some people acted it out, others drew images that they thought of when they read the text and others wrote words or key details. Overall, it was a great experience that made me really excited for the upcoming years of me properly learning Latin.

- Karinaa S 9H

The Greek myths cafe was different to some of our Latin classes, but different in a good way. We learnt about a Greek myth about a woman who gets turned into a spider by one of the Greek goddesses because the woman disrespected her. It was great to learn about an old story as we could interpret it in many ways which we did through dance, acting and drawing. It was also interesting to see what types of stories they had before our time. An unforgettable experience.

- Mia W-L 8H

I absolutely loved this workshop! Our group talked about how the moral of the story was about how everyone should have a voice and should be heard. We performed a section of the story and I loved how we got to work with different people in different years. My favourite part was participating in the acting section of the workshop with two other year 8's. During the workshop we got to share our ideas and there were lots of laughs and jokes along the way. Overall, it was the best workshop I have been to.

- Zara A 8H

On Tuesday after school, I went to the Latin myth cafe where we got into groups with our friends and ate biscuits and drank juice. Then we were given a story and we each read a paragraph and made a play and drew it out. It helped to build my teamwork skills and it was overall a great experience. I really enjoyed it and would love for it to happen again.

- Stevie S 8H

I'm glad I chose to go to the afterschool Latin because it was a great experience and the story was really interesting, The biscuits and juice were amazing and I especially enjoyed acting out our section of the story because it helped me understand it more.

- Ellie H 8H

On Monday Ms Rafferty and Ms Griffin's class went to Instituto Cervantes in London. It was the most interesting trip of my life!

When we got there, we met Mayte, the librarian, and she explained where the name of the institute came from and the history of the institute. It was so interesting to know how old the building was and how many different locations there were of Instituto Cervantes.

We then met Lucía and she explained sports in Spain to us and famous Spanish athletes! This was my favourite part as I love sports!

We played an interesting Kahoot about the popular sports and famous athletes.

We then watched the movie ‘Campeones’ and it was the most enthralling and fascinating movie ever! Watching Marco go from 100 to 0 back to 100 was so inspiring!

I really enjoyed the trip and I’m really grateful we were able to go!

- Haleema 10C

For the Spanish trip we went to Instituto Cervantes where they teach Spanish and learn about Spanish culture and Spanish speaking countries. I had a lot of fun we learnt about the different types of sports in the Hispanic countries we also did a quiz and learnt about the Hispanic athletes and more. We then watched a movie and I think that was my favourite part because it was fun, and we got to relax and watch something for the rest of the time that we were there.

- Sophia A. 10G