School French Culture Trip to the Opal Coast

Just a short hop across the Channel, the Opal Coast offers a fantastic range of cultural activities ideal for a school group!

This area is a wonderful introduction to France – it’s much less busy than big cities like Paris but offers just as many opportunities to immerse yourselves in the culture. You can visit Calais, Boulogne or Le Touquet on your French school trip to the Opal Coast – wherever you choose, you’ll be spoilt for choice in terms of the activities designed to get your students talking.

Popular options include chocolateries, bakeries and snail farms, where students can practise using their French to find out from the local producers how they make their products and their importance in French culture.

Certainly, for Key Stage 3 and GCSE students, this trip offers the perfect opportunity to develop their vocabulary around food, drink and eating out. It’s also a fantastic destination in which to learn more about customs and cultural traditions in France.

And A-level students can use this as an opportunity to learn more about various aspects of French-speaking society, and to work on their individual research projects.

And the variety of foodie activities available in this area means that the Opal Coast is also the perfect choice for a cross-curricular school trip in conjunction with your food technology department.

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

Morning

Depart school early morning

Channel crossing

Visit to a traditional French bakery

Afternoon

Arrive in Boulogne

Afternoon spent exploring local area/walk along the beach

Check in to accommodation

Evening

Evening meal at accommodation

Day 2

Morning

Visit to a traditional French market

Group to explore the Old Town of Boulogne

Afternoon

Visit to Nausicaa Sea Life Centre

Evening

Evening meal at accommodation

Day 3

Morning

Drive to Le Touquet

Visit to Chocolats de Beussent

Afternoon

Visit Les Escargots du Bocage (snail farm)

Evening

Evening meal at accommodation

Day 4

Morning

Visit a supermarket in Boulogne before heading to Calais

Afternoon

Channel crossing

Evening

Arrive back at school early evening

3 nights' half-board accommodation
Detailed information pack
Free staff place ratio 1:8
Itinerary planning service
Motorway tolls and taxes
Return Channel crossings
Return executive coach travel
Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
VAT at current rates to tour operators

Curriculum

A Level

Festivals and traditions
Aspects of French-speaking society
Individual research project opportunities

GCSE

Food, drink and eating out
Travel and tourism
Holiday destinations
Customs, celebrations and festivals
Home, town and neighbourhoods
Daily life and free time activities
Understanding French culture and identity

Key Stage 3

Exploring the town
Hobbies and pastimes
Food and drink
Eating out
Introducing yourself
Describing others
Likes and dislikes
Plants and animals
Cultural traditions

Accommodation

Centre Europeen de Sejour

Centre Europeen de Sejour is a light and modern Youth Hostel in Calais. It offers a total of 162 beds spread between 84 rooms. Pupils are normally in twin or triple rooms with one shared bathroom between every 2 rooms. Staff will be accommodated in twin bedded rooms, but single rooms are available at a supplement. Other facilities include a large self-service restaurant, two meeting rooms which can be used for group activities, TV, video and a games room with billiards and table football.

Stella Maris

This popular youth centre is located in the middle of the dunes in Stella- Plage which is a beautiful quaint little seaside town.This youth centre offers 85 rooms. Each room can sleep between 2-4 students and each with its own private WC/shower.There is a restaurant on-site that can offer breakfast and evening meals and packed luches can also be arranged. The reception desk is open from 08.30 until 19.00, 7 days a week and sells a selection of phonecards and postcards - there is even a daily collection from the postbox.There is a Classroom/Meeting room, Bar & café, Giant screen TV, Video/DVD player and Karaoke machine. Groups can watch films free of charge and can have a karaoke/disco night for 5€ per person.This fantastic accommodation centre also has a leisure room with table football, table tennis and video games. Outdoors, students can also make use of the Sports playground (football, basketball, volleyball and badminton)

Artes Cap d'Opale

Artes Cap d'Opale is located in Ambleteuse, a peaceful seaside resort full of history north of Boulogne. The Village Vacances is comprised of a central multi-storey building and three sperate blocks of chalet style accommodation. Chalets usually have two bedrooms and a bathroom with a usual maximum capacity of 5 beds per room, and 9 beds maximum per chalet.Most rooms on the ground floor are accessible, but there are also three specially adapted rooms for handicapped guests.The centre offers full- and half-board accommodation. Facilities include a reception, bar and restaurant. There is a classroom which can be hired out for a fee, and plenty of outdoor space for students to exercise or relax in. There is also an indoor pool which groups can use.

Educational Activities

Boulangerie Le Fournil

The charismatic baker will tell your students about his work – in French, of course.

Boulogne Old Town

Enjoy a self-guided walk around the old part of Boulogne, to get a feel for the traditions and culture of Boulogne.

Chocolats de Beussent

Enjoy a tour of this fantastic local chocolate factory.

Les Escargots du Bocage

Your visit to this snail farm will begin with a tour, here you will learn interesting facts about the snails

Nausicaa

The Nausicaa Sea-world museum seeks to educate children about the marine environment, man's impact upon it and why it is important that marine life should be protected.

Biscuit Factory Le Touquet

Visit a traditional French biscuit factory to discover how these delicious artisanal biscuits are made.

Cultural Activities

Opalaventure High Ropes Course

If you have a group of thrill seekers, make sure you include a visit to the Opalaventure High Ropes Course, where you'll enjoy a treetop adventure your students will never forget!

Rando Rail

Why not hop on a pedal-powered rail bike and enjoy a 9km round trip to explore either the enchanting woods of Nielles-les-Bléquin, or the rolling countryside of the Artois!

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect trip

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in the subject area and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a trip to suit your group’s needs and meet your learning objectives.

Launching your trip to parents and students

The next step is to get your trip approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. This is full of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the trip planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start work on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your trip (freeing you up to do what you do best – teach).

Support while you’re away

From lost property to properly lost, we’ll always be on the end of the phone while you’re out on the trip. You’ll get a final info pack before you go, as well as access to all your trip documents via the Vamoos app.

After your trip

We’ll ask you for feedback, so we can improve our service. Let’s start planning your next trip too, so parents have plenty of time to pay (and so it’s less stressful for you). And don’t forget to head to our resources hub to continue the learning back in the classroom.