MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The best experience of my life!

Disneyland Paris

REVIEW OF DISNEYLAND PARIS TRIP 7TH – 9TH FEBRUARY 2020, BY EVA GREEN, 1T

After a bleary – eyed start at 6:15 am, including a packed breakfast on the coach and a brief stop for hot chocolate at Starbucks at the Euro Star Terminal, we were finally on our way to France.

hen we arrived at

Wthe Explorers hotel, we collected our room keys and excitedly tumbled into our rooms. After about an hour of settling in, we all went to the hotel play area, where we wildly ran around, climbing, and playing manhunt. Once we were all worn out, we mounted the shuttle bus and set off to Disneyland Paris, to spend our first evening at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. We were given cowboy hats to wear, which we all kept as a souvenir. When we were all seated, the arena burst to life with horses, buffalo, Cowboys and Cowgirls, and Red Indians, and of course Mickey and Friends! During the Rodeo Games, one of the the students in our group was called up, much to our amusement and delight, and even won a medal for his shooting skills! It was hilarious when one of the teachers was called up alongside others to protect the gold our team had won, only to be captured by robbers! Fortunately they were rescued by the cowboys! We enjoyed a hearty feast of chilli and apple pie and it was a fantastically fun evening!

The next morning, after a breakfast selection of croissants, bread, fruit and hot chocolate, we set off for the Disney Park. We had a brilliant day on the different rides, screaming our heads off on thrilling rollercoasters. My highlights were the Ratatouille Ride and Hyperspace Mountain. I loved the chocolate crepes that we bought from a stall. At end of this exhilarating day, we even had time for a spot of gift shopping before heading back to the hotel.

On Sunday, we packed our bags, and headed off…into Paris! We zoomed up fifty six floors of the Montparnasse Tower, where we were greeted by the spectacular view of the city. We had a superb view of the Eiffel Tower which was the highlight of the day. We stopped off at a market where our challenge was to choose and buy our lunch by speaking only French. Our last excitement of the day was a boat ride along the Seine, where we had an even closer view of the Eiffel Tower, many of us heading onto the outer deck, into the raging wind, to take a photo.

At 10:30 pm we finally arrived back at school, exhausted after an unbelievably incredible weekend. It was one of the best experiences of my life!

Adventures in West and East Germany ‘STAMMTISCH’

“Stammtisch” is the school’s long-running Sixth Form German Society and in the autumn term we were delighted to be joined by guest speaker – Mr Lumbard. He shared his experiences of working as a Language Assistant in a West German secondary school in a rural town in 1986-87.

he new A Level course

Trewards pupils for their understanding of life in the divided Germany 1949 - 89 and Mr Lumbard’s personal perspectives, on the people and the politics in both East and West Germany at a time of great tensions between superpowers, provided pupils with some fascinating examples which they will be able to draw on when speaking about this important period in recent German history.

Among the many memorable episodes were Mr Lumbard’s visit to an eerily quiet East Berlin, seeing how locals reacted to West Germany losing the 1986 World Cup Final against Argentina and then writing an essay back at university on the then impossible prospect of

“A reunited Germany”. One of the many interesting documents from the time which

Mr Lumbard brought to show the group was the full-length article in the local newspaper celebrating his year in the town of Hoya. It is safe to say Mr Lumbard made a similarly positive impact at “Stammtisch” and we are indebted to him for taking the time to share his enriching experiences with us.

FRENCH SOCIETY

The Importance of Music

The French Society welcomed (virtually) Fallou N’Diaye , French producer and musician who gave a talk on the role and impact of music in African French speaking countries and its importance in African society.

It was a fascinating insight into the world of music which prompted many questions from our A Levels pupils and no doubt will inspire some to explore further in preparation for their oral IRP next year. It was also great to see so many Fifth Year pupils, currently on our Inspire course, join in and get involved.

A TRUE INSPIRATION FOR OUR LOWER SIXTH

FRENCH SOCIETY:

FANTASTIC START

The first presentation this term by Abbie in the Upper Sixth on ‘La relation entre le football Français et la politique’ was thoroughly researched and expertly presented with an impressive and convincing analysis. Incisive questions from the floor leading to a great debate with an amazing range of language and accuracy in French. Magnificent start! A true inspiration for our Lower Sixth.

Spanish Pupils Exchange

Lower Sixth Form pupils took part in a virtual Spanish exchange with their counterparts from Academia Fonética in Madrid at the end of June.

here were around 20

Tpupils taking part split equally between our two schools and they spent an hour comparing what life is like for young people in both countries. The chat included: university systems, their further studies and other topics of interest, free time and life in lock down. Pupils spoke to each in Spanish and English and all our pupils had lots of opportunity to hear and speak plenty of Spanish. The whole exercise was another example of how embracing technology allows pupils to engage with Modern Language study in a way that makes it real for them. We will be continuing with virtual exchange throughout next year.

CLASE DE PAELLA

The Lower Sixth form Spanish group were treated to a paella cooking demonstration in Spanish by our resident paella ‘expert’ Amelia, a member of the school catering team and Mrs Roberts.

The session was conducted entirely in Spanish with pupils learning the tricks of how to create an authentic Spanish paella complete with mussels, clams, prawns and chicken, but definitely no chorizo, as Amelia told us! During the session pupils talked with Amelia in Spanish throughout and asked many relevant and not so relevant questions. Hearing the discussion was wonderful. Pupils then got to eat the paella and found it ‘muy, muy rica’ (very tasty). Many thanks to the Catering team and especially Amelia for this exciting and authentic session.