On Sunday 16th February 17 upper fifth formers and three members of staff flew from Gatwick to Nice for a five-day study trip in preparation for the IGCSE oral exams this term. On arrival at Nice airport in the evening, the pupils were picked up by their host families for their first challenge – supper and conversation en français. They reconvened the next morning at a local French language school, where the pupils were taught lessons in French from 9.30am to 12pm each day, focusing particularly on their
speaking and listening skills.
The afternoons were filled with guided excursions (in French) to local places of interest. On the Monday the pupils were shown around the old town of Nice, where they were able to see preparations for the carnival celebrations, wander the old streets and climb to the top of the old castle hill, including some breath-taking views over the coast. We finished off the day by relaxing on the beach in the sunshine (much needed after all the rain we’d been having in the UK!). On Tuesday they were driven to the stunning hill-top village of Eze, where they were first given a tour of the Fragonard perfumery followed by some free time in the village. Their final excursion was to Monaco, where they went up to Monte Carlo to see the Casino, crossed over to Monaco town by boat in order to visit the Musée Océanographique (complete with shark tank!) and Prince Albert’s palace, and finished off with a quick bite to eat in a local pizzeria.
Each evening, the pupils returned to their host families for supper and conversation and by the end of the trip their confidence levels, vocabulary and understanding had 
noticeably improved.
