French

Getting to know Ms Spencer

When I first came to NHEHS for interview I was impressed how close the girls and staff were. I saw a lot of students speaking with teachers on one to one basis. I was wondering how I would have time to have moments like this but it does take place and I enjoy this kind of working atmosphere. The teachers and the girls are caring, helpful and ambitious.

When in France I studied English and American language, Civilisation and Literature at MA level. I did my first dissertation on Dombey and Son and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Once in England, I decided to broaden my studies and did an MA in Comparative Literature at King’s College London, where I compared mostly French, Spanish and English literature. I did a dissertation on comparing by Elizabeth Gaskell and by Zola.

I am not sure I can choose one! Recently I saw in Paris with my kids. It’s a cartoon by the makers of . I thought it was really clever and well done. My favourite thriller is . I love , which we teach in Year 12, and which is hilarious. I really liked watching on Netflix recently.

I first got a job near Oxford as a French assistant in a boys’ boarding school. I needed the experience and wanted to spend my year abroad in the UK. Then I met my husband and followed him to London. I was supposed to stay one year, then thought maybe another year. This was 13 years ago! And I do not want to live anywhere else! It is uncanny how I quickly adapted to living in London, and yet I would not consider living in Paris at all! What is the French view of Brexit?

Evidently, France is a country of primary importance to Britain, for numerous reasons, one of which being the fact that migration between both countries is huge, as seen through the fact that there are roughly around 190,000 Brits now migrated and living in France, and in turn there are an estimated 200,000 French living in Britain. Due to many other mediating factors influencing the strength of our relationship with France, much controversy has arisen from the possibility of Britain becoming a “third country” for France. There could be certain disastrous consequences as a result of this, including large block roads and traffic between borders as well as many applications having to be filled in order to remain in the country.

However, if this is so, why is it that when a majority of European countries were asked whether or not their preferred choice would be for Britain to remain or leave the EU, almost all were strongly opinionated that Britain should remain in the EU? All but one, France had 38% of the public preferred Britain to remain, whilst 34% preferred Britain to leave. The proximity in percentages shows that in fact, France may evidently believe that Brexit may be in France’s favour and not only Britain’s. However, many factors of course must be taken into consideration as France and every other EU country could be biased.

During Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, the French have been working very closely with Germany, the EU’s strongest voice. The rivalry between France and Britain competing for the “deputy role within the EU” proves that in fact, France could perceive the idea of Britain leaving the EU as an easy way to achieve this role without a diplomacy war. Therefore, in short, they would benefit from this due no longer having an ongoing competition.

Many economic impacts would also be taken due to trade and how crucial a trading partner we are to France, the biggest hit being wine and cheese amongst others, as France is of course well known for these goods. Therefore the question is, how would this impact Britain’s demand for these goods and could it possibly result in a future recession due to substantially high prices on these imports?

French Trips

Montpelier 2019

Overall, I really enjoyed the Montpellier school trip, especially because when I went back to my French lessons after the holidays, I found that I had definitely improved. Some highlights were; having a lot of independence and exploring the town, the shops and the culture of it all (also, the ice cream shops were great). The lessons were useful and interesting, as well as learning to sing “La Vie en Rose” and constantly filling up on coffee, teas and sweet milk using the machine next door. Furthermore, the lady we stayed with, Colette, was an amazing host and cook, with a very cute cat called ‘Emiko’. My favourite meal was the chicken, buttery potatoes and green beans with dressed salad for a starter. As well as all this, the activities were great, such as overhearing peoples conversations in the Polygon mall. It was a really enjoyable trip!

Vita Morris, Year 10

Erasmus Trip

The ERASMUS+ project is a project about gender equality and gender in the media. On the 5th May, 13 girls from my year group (Year 9); accompanied by Ms Swift, Mr Smith and Ms Yuteri, set off to St Pancreas International to travel to Strasbourg for the ERASMUS+ trip. We were all eager to be part of the project and meet likeminded students from schools all around Europe, including, France, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.

Everyone stayed at the European Youth Centre where we had to participate in either film or graphics workshops, based on gender equality or gender in the media. We were divided into mixed groups and had to work towards presenting our final product in a week’s time. It was so interesting to work with students who were so different yet so similar! Apart from working for our workshops, we took time out to visit many other places in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a beautiful city. Much of it could be covered on foot and we enjoyed a lot of walking as we toured the city. It was absolutely fantastic to visit the European Parliament (which was conveniently very close to the European Youth Centre). ‘La Cathédrale de Strasbourg’ was magnificent too! We also went to a restaurant called ‘Au Wacken’ where we enjoyed the delicious - tarte flambée! On the 10th May, all the schools visited the ‘College International Vauban’ where we presented our final project and had a visit from Mr Shoults.

This trip has definitely been one of my favourites. It was so insightful and I enjoyed being able to communicate with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

It just goes to show how even though we all come from different places, we all share the same belief on the topic of gender equality. I’ve met people that I will honestly never forget and made some lifetime friendships. It was a wonderful experience and I would love to do again!

Rhea Johri, Year 9