WARMINSTER COGNAC EXCHANGE – PART DEUX
Following on from our successful visit to Cognac in October, pupils from Year 10 welcomed their French exchange partners to Warminster last week. Most French pupils were lucky enough to stay with the families of their Warminster partners or in the Boarding Houses. The pupils spent a fantastic week experiencing a taste of English school and family life.
Some highlights of the exchange visit included day trips to Stonehenge and Bath. On the first day our French friends got shown English weather at its best – they experienced every facet within their first few hours, from an atrocious hail storm to bright sunshine! Later in the week, the pupils were particularly happy to get back at their Warminster partners for being fed marmite in October – their “revenge” was some extra strong cheese, apparently a delicacy in France!
Warminster exchange partners and day pupils who were in charge of their French friends did a brilliant job making everybody feel welcome and showing them the British lifestyle. A particular 'thank you' should also go to all Warminster teachers who gave the French pupils the chance to attend their lessons and experience English school life.
Ms. Rodriguez, who was the leading organiser of this exchange said: “Learning French has really come alive for our Year 10 pupils since embarking on this exchange adventure – they have all made friends in our partner school in Cognac, and so much of what we do in lessons now means something real. Almost every lesson now I hear comments like “I actually used one of those expressions with my French friend”, or “I kept hearing that in France – now I understand”. Sharing a school day is a fantastic way of learning – my colleagues and I are absolutely exhausted, but SO excited by what's happening. We are already planning next year's exchange!”
The Warminster-Cognac exchange has proven how valuable it can be to experience other cultures at first hand and how much fun language learning can be. All Warminster and Cognac pupils and teachers agreed that this was one of the best language-learning experiences they’ve ever had.
Nicola Rogers, Head of MFL