A Celebration of the Centenary of World War One

Erasmus+ Project – France 8^th – 13^th November 2015

Four of our Year 11 French students, accompanied by two members of staff (Mr Le-Normand and Mrs Roberts) represented the school in Antibes, France during a 5 day ‘exchange’ project funded by an Erasmus + grant in November as part of a two year project to celebrate the Centenary of the First World War. Pupils have already had the chance to visit our link schools in both Sicily and Poland.

The four boys who took part this time were Ben Harding, Harry Holt, Scott Hurst and Patrick Nelson.

Here is what the boys had to say:

During our stay in France we participated in a realistic, cultural experience between 8 delegations from 8 different nations; England, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Romania and Portugal. As we were in France, we stayed with members of College Fersen and their families. We sampled their food and life at home in a French family – the experience was exhilarating yet different.

There was a variety of activities that we took part in from day trips to Nice and Eze to painting a mural of War and Peace. The most exciting thing we did there was watch a French student-made animation film. It told the story of animals in World War 1 representing the different armies involved in the war and how it affected them individually.

The best part about the trip was sampling life as a French person – being able to eat what they do and talk to them despite the language barrier we faced. The other delegations had it harder than us because some of them didn’t speak a word of English or French, but despite the obvious issues with language, we managed to make lifelong friends.

During the activities, we were split into groups with different nations and made friends with each of them. The activities ranged from ceramics to mural painting. The best thing we did on our free afternoon was watch Harry parade with the locals during Armistice Day. He marched alongside Mr Le Normand and the 7 other delegations and their teachers holding the Union Jack.

We had a farewell party on the last evening were we said our goodbyes to all the other delegations and French students. The Friday was the day were we said goodbye to our host families and joined as a school for the 2 hour flight home – we arrived on time and at the correct gate this time, unlike in Liverpool leaving for the trip where we had to arrive at the airport for 05:00am, our flight was 07:30 but we nearly missed the flight because we went to the wrong gate!

Overall the experience was eye opening and exciting, giving us an informed insight on many different cultures and educating us on the importance of relationships between countries in the European Union.