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 one big cross-channel family with teams based in the UK and France.
The team in France handles accommodation arrangements, the learning programme at the centre, dietary and medical requirements and any queries related to the centre. To reach the French team directly, call 0033 233 604 695 or email admin@the-chateau.com
The team in the UK handles transport arrangements, finance and general administration. To reach the UK team directly, call 01273 827333 or email carole@the-chateau.com.
This top-level table illustrates how you need to liaise with the team in France and the team in the UK in the run up to your trip, from up to 12 months before departure to after you've returned to the UK. Click here for a more descriptive account of what happens at each stage of your booking.
Booking stage |
Liaison with team in France |
Liaison with team in UK |
| 12–6 months prior to departure | N/A | Make provisional booking Promote your trip Liaise regarding numbers Send first deposits |
| 6–3 months prior to departure | Voice any queries Share your group's gender breakdown |
Send second deposits |
| 2 months prior to departure | Begin building your program Receive room allocation |
Check transport online Confirm number of passengers travelling |
| 1 month prior to departure | Finalise your program Fill in forms via 'Manage my booking' |
Send final balance Send names list for transport Send emergency numbers |
| 1 week prior to departure | N/A | Print final itinerary |
| During your stay | Arrange feedback interview | Receive updated travel itinerary |
| Upon your return | N/A | Complete feedback interview |
All accommodation, meals, activities, lessons, evening entertainment, staff and transport are included in the price (unless arranged otherwise at your booking stage).
Yes. Château de la Baudonnière & La Grand'Ferme are owned by Class Tours Limited, a member of ABTA, the UK’s largest travel association, which means we have to abide by the high professional standards set out in ABTA’s code of conduct. This means that customers can be confident that they will be treated fairly and have the added peace of mind that, if something goes wrong with the booking, they can turn to ABTA to help resolve any issues.
You can verify our ABTA membership by searching our ABTA number Y0554 at abta.com/abta-member-search
Yes. Château de la Baudonnière & La Grand'Ferme are owned by Class Tours Limited, and are financially protected by ABTOT (Association of Bonded Tour Operators Trust Limited) which provides financial cover for school trip packages taken to our centres by coach. This means that schools and parents can be reassured that any money paid for their school trip is financially protected in the unlikely event that the business closes.
You can verify our ABTOT membership by searching our ABTOT number 5483 at abtot.com/abtot-members-directory/
If you do wish to take out travel insurance, we can organise this at a charge of £5 per pupil for Normandy Experience and £6 per pupil for the Château programme.
All aspects of operations and transport are covered by our public liability insurance. Your school and union should provide general liability insurance to cover you and your colleagues. We recommend that all travellers have valid EHIC or GHIC cards prior to travelling.
We implore students to leave all valuables such as, but not limited to, tablets, phones, portable game consoles & jewellery at home. Parents must accept responsibility for any lost property on the trip and it is the parent's responsibility to ensure that their child's personal effects are covered on their home insurance policy or similar.
The majority of our groups travel to France via coach and ferry. We typically arrange the transport between 6–3 months prior to your departure. Wherever possible, we transport passengers on our own fleet of coaches, Pegasus Coaches. In other instances, we use trusted coach companies with whom we've been in partnership for years.
A coach picks up a group from their school and takes them all the way to our centre in Normandy via Brittany Ferries. This option is reserved for groups of 50+ and typically requires combining groups. We can arrange multiple pick ups to make this coach share option possible.
A coach picks up a group from their school and transfers them to port, where they cross as foot passengers (with luggage trailers on main crossings). Upon arrival in France, our coach transfers the group to our centre in Normandy.
We've long worked in partnership with Brittany Ferries. Our groups typically use the Portsmouth-Caen or Portsmouth-Cherbourg crossings as they are the most frequent. Other crossings include Poole-Cherbourg and Plymouth-Roscoff.
This crossing lasts 6 hours and usually leads to a steady crossing since the ferry is larger. This crossing supplies hot food and Brittany usually try to allocate a room to each group as a courtesy, but this is not guaranteed. (You can book a room for your group at a charge of £150 each way). For foot passengers, luggage trailers are not provided and need to be paid for, which we do at our expense. We aim to secure luggage trailers for every group, however they may be unavailable on certain crossings.
This crossing lasts less than 3 hours. It has friendlier timings but crossing can be choppy depending on the weather. Hot food is not available on these crossings and the seating arrangements are airline style. This crossing automatically has luggage assistance for foot passengers, that’s why we try our best to prioritise foot passenger groups on these crossings to facilitate their journey.
Travelling via Eurotunnel is only possible for groups with a full-time coach and most convenient for schools based near to Folkestone. The journey to Calais takes just 35 minutes, with an additional 5-hour drive to reach our centres in Normandy.
On rare occasions, some groups opt to fly to Dinard or Rennes in order to reach our centres in Normandy. We have had groups arrange their own flights and we've provided an airport transfer. We recommend using any of the alternative travel methods listed above, however if you are interested in flying, please phone the UK office to discuss your options with us.
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.
