Central to the programme are guided excursions to local attractions in Normandy, which are led by animateurs to offer your students authentic cultural exposure and the opportunity to interact with the local community. In addition, back at the centre animateurs will lead a programme of activities and evening entertainment which will get your students speaking French while having heaps of fun—and they're sure to become more confident in the process!
Mont Saint-Michel may well be France’s most famous landmark outside of Paris. Built in the 11th century, the Abbey is a feat of medieval architecture with outstanding panoramic views over the bay. The adventurous can approach by crossing the tidal causeway, but wearing shorts is recommended! A guide will make sure you follow a safe route and point out interesting features along the way.
French markets are a staple of French culture and are always lively colourful affairs, selling local produce, French fashion and accessories and plenty of seasonal fruit and veg. The vendors are usually friendly and keen to help pupils practise their French – ideal places to pick up souvenirs.
Our region is rich in towns where every stone is steeped in history, with medieval ramparts perched over picturesque valleys. One of the finest is St Malo, with its magnificent cathedral, Wax Museum and the Old Market Hall, shops with local crafts and open markets. It’s also home to a huge aquarium, where you can ride on a submarine or even touch living fish – a real hands on experience!
The Goats Cheese Farm is always a popular option among our groups. Pet the goats, milk them and finish off with a tasting session – delicious!
Dinan is one of the most attractive medieval walled cities in France. The old town is full of half-timbered houses, churches, castles and cobbled streets overlooking the river Rance. Its fortifications made Dinan an almost impregnable fortress.
The old town with its narrow cobbled streets of houses built from local granite offers panoramic views towards the islands of Jersey and Guernsey to the north and Mont Saint-Michel to the south. Built on its own little peninsula, once the basis of the town's defences, Granville is compact and a fantastic shopping centre.
Arromanches was at the heart of the D-Day Landings and as such has superb museums with emotive and informative displays. One of these museums features a 360° cinema with unreleased footage from war correspondents filmed on D-Day.
The Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches des Bains explains the construction, creation and use of Mulberry Harbours (temporary harbours made because the Germans occupied all fixed harbours along the Northern French coast), which were absolutely crucial to the Allies in winning strategic advantage over the German forces: some say that without them the D-Day Landings would almost certainly have failed.
The town of Caen is mostly known for its long history. As the city of William the Conqueror, Caen has protected its magnificent heritage including the Caen castle, one of the largest medieval fortress of its time, which now serves as an Art Museum. Caen was also a key site of the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War - a core part of our Normandy Battlefield tours programme. The city has preserved the memory by building a memorial for peace.
The Normandy coastline is beautiful, with miles upon miles of long sandy beaches. So for groups fancying a bit of R&R, a trip to the beach is perfect for an impromptu picnic, beach games led by your animateur or an interesting coastal walk.
Go to the entrancing city of Bayeux to uncover the mysteries of the C.11th Bayeux Tapestry depicting the events leading up to the defeat of King Harold by William the Conqueror, including the Battle of Hastings. Aside from the Tapestry, don’t miss the magnificent medieval cathedral. Note that the Bayeux Tapestry will be closed from September 2025 until Summer 2027.
15 minutes from the Château, groups can visit the town's Bell Foundry, Copper Workshop and Pewter Museum. It is rich in history and has a great morning market every Tuesday.
La Cité de la Mer is one of Normandy’s must-see family attractions about man’s adventures under the sea. You can spend a whole day here and visit “Titanic, return to Cherbourg”, a unique exhibition about the celebrated liner. You will also be able to listen to the Captain of Le Redoutable telling you all about his life on board the largest submarine in the world that is open to the public**. Then you will gaze in awe at the 17 aquariums, including the magical, 11-metre-deep, Abyssal Aquarium.
** for safety reasons, children under five are not allowed to visit Le Redoutable submarine.
Taking place on our purpose-built wall, this activity is supervised by animateurs who have all received site-specific training, which covers all aspects of climbing including the use of safety equipment, personal protective equipment, set ups and techniques, plus rope work. Our UK assessor, who overseas the assessment and training of staff is Keith Flemming.
The château grounds provide the perfect base from which to run these team building and problem-solving exercises. Animateurs will set your pupils up with various challenging tasks to be carried out in the forest. Pupils are encouraged to speak to each other in French (as much as possible!) as they work as a team to overcome the challenges that have been set.
This fun Robin Hood activity provides the perfect conduit for practising French numbers and directions, as students tally scores and describe the placement of their arrow, reinforcing and contextualising the vocabulary.
Students will be taught map reading in French using orienteering games and courses in The Chateau grounds. As well as using French language for features, directions and map symbols the team orienteering challenges will involve other French language quizzes as well as finding the control markers.
The obstacle course is quickly becoming the château’s most popular activity. Instructions, as usual, are given in French and pupils are asked to repeat ‘action’ statements before tackling each obstacle. It is an ideal activity for practising popular verbs and prepositions. Everyone loves parcours de santé because it gives them the chance to get rather wet and muddy!
As with everything we do, in our fencing sessions safety is our number one priority. So, only after the equipment has been issued and the safety brief has been fully understood, do pupils get down to practising their fencing moves. Your animateur will teach the basics of the sport in French and pupils will repeat actions whilst practising their new French phrases.
Everyone loves making things they can enjoy and eat later, and even more so at the château because we combine bread baking with singing French songs! Primary school pupils love getting covered in flour, kneading their dough and enjoying their tasty treats later with their evening meal. A hands-down favourite.
"Photogramme" is an artistic activity which take place in a dark room. Using the photography development techniques, the kids will be able to create their own piece of art. They will use the nature surrounding them to discover the principles of early photography techniques and also to learn some new vocabulary. The Pupils can keep their creation at the end of the session.
Brilliant for learning a whole variety of French vocabulary and phrases, from the names of circus tools to the actions themselves, as well as more basic things such as colours, numbers and prepositions. Your animatuer will teach the technique alongside the art of circus skills.
Aéroballe is probably our most popular activity among teachers and pupils alike – it is a totally unique trampoline-basketball-volleyball game, suitable for all ages. It is played by two teams of two, who are guided by their friends in French.
During this session, the students will discover the vocabulary regarding the animals and the work that is done around them. They will experiment some of the tasks of the mini-farm including feeding the animals and cuddling the rabbits. The chickens, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep, ponies and lamas all love this type of activity when the kids can approach them and take care of them!
Our purpose built sports courts - one at La Grand'Ferme and two at the Château - are used for a range of sports and games including hockey, basketball, football, handball and chuckball. One of our evening programmes is our famous sports tournament which students really enjoy.
Evening activities at the chateau include; Grande Trouvaille – Photo-mystère, Tournoi de sports, Feu de camp, Quiz, Talent Show, Exercice d’initiative intérieur, Jeux d’intérieur, Jeux d’extérieur (l’été), Jeux Sans Frontière (l’été), Disco, Cinéma – Film sur Grand écran, Crêperie, Bowling
Staying on-site at la Grand' Ferme you have to find as many objects as possible in a set time - starting with a list of 30 items you will need to communicate lots of French with your team mates in order to find the treasure before anyone else!
Your students will be split into teams to play volleyball on the centre's own court. The game is a great way to practise numbers, instructions and directions in the target language.
Take advantage of the centre's heated outdoor swimming pool with leisurely swimming or organised pool games. Teachers are responsible for supervising children in the pool as we cannot provide a lifeguard.
Good old fun (and SUPER competitive!), the French game of pétanque takes place on our traditional boule pitch where players are challenged to throw the boule as close to the jack as possible to win.
Are you ready to learn some French while having fun? Fencing is not just about sword fighting, it's also a great way to learn new French words. So put on your mask, pick up your sword, and let's start fencing and learning French together. En garde !
French immersion works
Developed over 20 years, our approach to French teaching creates a truly immersive experience that is shown to improve learning and confidence.
We’re here for you
Our local managers are on hand 24/7 to look after the individual needs of your group and deliver the best experience every time you visit.
Schools return to us year after year
Our French language residentials offer the highest quality instruction and care which is why 8 out of 10 school groups return each year.
Animateurs are “like having another teacher on the trip”
All school group activities are led by our own French-native animateurs who are skilled at encouraging even the most reticent learner to use their French.
Authentic French experiences
As part of the local community, with ties across the region, we offer an authentic French cultural experience during your group's stay.
A French programme to suit your learning objectives
Looking for onsite adventure activities? The chance to experience authentic local culture? Or an escorted tour of Normandy's rich history and landmarks? We have a French trip to suit.
