On Thursday 21st May, a group of 40 year 8 students, accompanied by Mrs Moore, Miss Fitzgerald, Mr Lake, Mr Carr, and Robyn and Natalia from the sixth form set off, on their two-day trip to Boulogne in France. We arrived at the bus bay at school at 7.45am waiting to depart on the trip to Dover to catch the ferry to Calais. The bus trip was really good, as was the ferry ride, as it was very calm, and seemed to take hardly any time. There was a large arcade, and we were allowed to go anywhere we wanted on the ferry.

On arriving in Calais, we drove to the Chocolaterie Beussent, where we had a tour of the factory, and they showed us how they make chocolate. We got to taste the cocoa beans - they were very strong and bitter; and also got to try the chocolate they had made while we were there. It was delicious. We then had the chance to buy some of the chocolate, which of course most people did. They made some really amazing things out of the chocolate like windmills, chickens and a large house, which looked like the real thing, in miniature - unfortunately!

Having had a delicious snack of chocolate out next stop was a snail (l’ escargot) farm. On arrival we were shown where the snails were kept – a large poly tunnel. The lady, who owned the snail farm, showed us just how many snails they kept, by holding up a plank of wood, which was absolutely filled with baby snails. We then got the chance to hold the snails, which if you were holding one, meant that your hand was covered in mucus, from the snail moving around your hand – it was disgusting! Finally we got the chance to taste the snails themselves, firstly there was pate which we could try, which was very garlicky and was served with a piece of bread. Personally, I really didn’t like it as it was quite chewy but I do know that some people did. Then there was the real thing, which I didn’t try, but when Mrs Moore did she was sick from it! Finally we got to have most people’s favourite thing, a snail-shaped biscuit with no snail in it!

Then we went to the youth hostel where we would be staying in rooms of four. We had two floors to ourselves, and after unpacking, we had dinner, which consisted of chicken and chips, and for desert a chocolate éclair. After dinner, we went for a walk to the beach, and most of the boys were delighted there was a skate ramp for them to play on. After our walk we arrived back at the youth hostel at about 11pm and went to bed.

Next morning we woke up, and had a big breakfast to fill us up for the day. We ate lots of bread, and cereal, but were disappointed that there weren’t any croissants! Once we had packed up our things, and tidied our rooms, we set off, excited about what this day would hold. First we toured the small town of Le Portel, and got to see many traditional French shops – la boulangerie, la patisserie, et le café. We also visited a small market that was being held in the town, where we did lots of shopping for clothes, food, and memorable gifts. After this we went for lunch at the beach and played rounders and football.

It was then back onto the coach to head off to a hypermarket, which was much bigger than any of us expected. It had lots of shops which we recognised in it, such as New Look, Zara, H&M, Tesco, and Toys R Us and, of course, McDonalds, but they were mostly French shops we didn’t recognise, but were very much like the shops in England. We spent ages in there and it was really good fun. We had to stay in groups of at least three but most of us, went around in a lot bigger groups. We brought lots of souvenirs, such as mini statues of the Eiffel Tower, and tops which said ‘Je t’aime’; although most of the boys were buying huge footballs, and metre-long bubble gums!

It was the moment we were not looking forward to, going back home. We took the coach to the ferry, and then boarded the ferry. The sea was a lot rockier than it had been on the way out, and finally we got back on the coach and headed back to Waddesdon. At about 10pm we arrived back, everyone really happy at the times we had, but also happy at the thought of being back home. Overall, we had an amazing time, and I’m sure that everyone would like us to thank the staff who took us – we had a great time. Merci beaucoup!

By Chloe and Hannah.