We think students always learn best when they’re having fun, which is why all our activities are designed to give your students a really good time.
Our activities are all based at the château and run by our superbly popular animateurs. They are specially trained and experienced in creating an environment, where pupils feel comfortable speaking French and making mistakes - they make sure your pupils enjoy themselves so much, the don't even realise they're learning! Instructions for each activity are given in French (but safety instructions can always be repeated in English) and the pupils are encouraged to speak French at all times.
Our own château workbooks reinforce the French they’ve learned by providing them with key phrases, vocab, exercises and puzzles to complete at the end of each activity.
Below is a list of activities and outdoor sessions available at the Château. They all provide the perfect environment for students to feel at ease using French, and include the learning/practice of verbs, actions, directions, instructions and vocabulary relevant to the immediate environment.
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 !
