Our charming Château, nestled in the Normandy countryside, has been welcoming students for over 30 years. Its extensive grounds provide the perfect safe environment for learners to improve their language skills and confidence through a range of on-site activities.
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The Voyager-owned Château is situated only 90 minutes from the port of Cherbourg, which most school groups travel to from Portsmouth via ferry. We are situated in South West Normandy just at the base of the Cherbourg peninsula, about 10 km north of the Cathedral city of Avranches. Our Normandy school centre boasts comfortable accommodation blocks and facilities for a range of on-site activities delivered in French by our experienced animateurs. With plenty of on-site activities and excursions to local beaches, museums and local French markets, our Château de la Baudonnière residential centre is perfect for:
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This charming 19th century Château sits amongst 100 acres of enchanting woodland, which boasts a lake, orchard, farm and stables, with facilities to host a variety of on-site activities. The Château can comfortably accommodate approximately 170 students at any one time.
There are 8 different accommodation blocks in the Château grounds, each with their own unique space that holds between 4-12 students in each dorm, plenty of space to accommodate large groups.
The Château grounds offer multiple accommodation blocks, all dorm rooms sleep between 4-12 students in bunks, with the majority of rooms en-suite with well-equipped bathroom facilities. A 5-minute walk away from the Château is the Nivard Gite which can accommodate a group of up to 23 students. All student bedrooms are single-gender.
Students can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner on-site in our spacious dining room with room dividers, capable of separating areas of the room while still being together. Meals are homecooked by our kitchen team and cater for all dietary requirements.
For accompanying adults, we provide comfortable twin or double rooms with an en-suite or shared bathroom, depending on availability, in any of our accommodation blocks. If travelling off-peak, wherever possible we will try to secure a single room with en-suite, subject to availability.
The Château has two well-equipped fencing rooms for students to practice fencing while guided in French.
Our Château de la Baudonnière Centre Team
Darren and his team have considerable experience looking after British school trips and perfecting the centre to deliver the best quality service and experience for students. There is always a member of staff on night duty, meaning schools have the benefit of 24-hour care and supervision at all times.
The Château has dedicated French-native animateurs whose job it is to guide your school group throughout their trip, providing a full evening programme to create an immersive French experience. It's these animateurs that teachers consistently feedback add the most value to their school trip.
"We had an absolutely fabulous weekend at the Chateau. The staff there were so warm, welcoming and helpful. Their attention to detail when it came to students' safety was exceptional and so was the smooth and efficient running of all the activities. Both students and teachers had loads of fun and we can't wait to come back next year!"Caroline Tully, MFL Teacher at Riddlesdown Collegiate
Central to our programme are the on-site activities lead by animateurs. Our animateurs deliver a range of adventure and team-building activities, making the most of the fantastic on-site facilities at the Château. All activities are designed to build students' confidence and to use their French in practical, real-life situations.
Climbing sessions take place at the centre's own climbing wall which is suitable for students of any age. After issuing equipment and explaining the safety procedures, the students will climb various paths on the wall. They will use commands in French to each other and will learn French words for movements and parts of the body.
On location in the beautiful grounds, tasks are set for each group to encourage the students to work together. These team-building and problem-solving activities are challenging, fun and require good communication skills and a lot of team spirit.
This popular session is held on our purpose-built obstacle course in the Château grounds. Explanations are done in French and pupils repeat action statements before being allowed to do each obstacle. Ideal for practising popular verbs and the use of prepositions. Usually rather wet and muddy, the students enjoy finishing off the session with a run against the clock and a dip in the river!
Kayaking sessions are conducted on the beautiful on-site lake. Simple instructions are given in French and the students will master various skills in a very safe and fun environment. Students should be confident in water, but do not need to be excellent swimmers for this activity.
Students get the chance to be a Robin Hood. After the obligatory safety talk and explanation of the equipment, the students shoot the arrows onto targets, an excellent opportunity to practise numbers and directions in the target language.
This activity is designed to enhance the students’ knowledge of French while capturing an image from their activity, be it a leaf or a flower or their very own design. Using our dark room we can develop the image onto paper for the students to take away with them.
Aeroball is a fun, totally unique sport! The trampoline-basketball-volleyball game is suitable for all ages and is played by two teams of 2. Simple instructions are given in French and the students will have the chance to learn/practise the vocabulary for the body parts. It’s also a great opportunity to practise the numbers (scoring and counting down the end of the match). Aeroball is quickly becoming a favourite activity for students and teachers alike!
Suitable for all ages bread making is not just a case of making bread, it’s also a golden opportunity to practise your singing talents, as we sing French songs. Students will be guided from the very beginning with simple French instructions. From the measuring of the flour to the kneading of the bread, this activity will keep their enthusiasm going throughout. They will even get to taste the fruits of their hard work as their bread will be baked in time for the evening meal.
Enables pupils to discover the art of circus on an artistic as well as technical level. Students are introduced to juggling, diabolo and other circus equipment in a fun and educational manner. The French spoken during this activity is very varied and is based on using the names of the equipment (stick, balls, diabolo...), action verbs (to walk, to move...), directions (left, right, up, down...), colours (orange, red, green...), numbers (one, two, three...).
The students will be taught map reading in French using orienteering games and courses in the centre grounds. As well as using French language for features, directions and map symbols the team orienteering challenges will involve other French language quizzes along with finding the control markers.
© EmilyStAubert
If you'd like to factor in some time for your group on the beach, your animateur will be happy to organise a picnic or beach games on one of Normandy's many sandy beaches. Your animateur can also lead a coastal walk where students learn about the local wildlife.
There are many cemeteries in France which serve as poignant memorials to the fallen of WWII. Visits to these sites complement History tours and allow students to gain a greater understanding of the loss of life and the human effects of the war.
Arromanches is at the heart of the D-Day Landings. There are museums with vivid and emotive displays, including the famous 360° cinema with unreleased footage from war correspondents, filmed on D-Day. There is also the Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches Les Bains, built on the site of the Mulberry Harbour, with working models and film to explain this incredible technical feat.
This island and its surrounding bay are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Scale the cobblestoned streets to reach the churches and the famous gothic-style abbey. Groups with an Animateur will experience a guided barefoot walk across the bay, which is a highlight for students.
Saint-Malo is a historic walled city with a surrounding beach. Central to the cobblestoned old town is the Roman Catholic Saint-Malo Cathedral. Popular visits also include the town museum and the Great Aquarium, home to 11,000 marine animals.
Famous as the home of the 70 metre-long Bayeux Tapestry, the medieval town is also home to the largest British military cemetery in France, making it a key destination for groups studying the history of conflict. Note that the Bayeux Tapestry will be closed from September 2025 until Summer 2027.
Just 15 minutes from Château de la Baudonnière, groups can visit the town's Bell Foundry, Copper Workshop and Pewter Museum. It is rich in history and has a bustling morning market every Tuesday.
Visiting Dinan is like taking your students back in time. This medieval walled town is full of charm thanks to its 13th-century castle, river, narrow streets and magnificently preserved timber clad buildings.
The seaside resort of Granville is a historic fishing port with views towards Jersey and Guernsey. Students of fashion and design will be particularly interested in visiting Musée Christian Dior to tour the exhibition housed in the fashion designer's childhood home.
With the mission of promoting peace, this emphasizes the importance of learning from the atrocities of the Second World War and, in particular, the D-Day landings to prevent future conflicts. Expect an immersive experience featuring artefacts, films and interactive displays investigating the causes and consequences of WWII.
A chance for students to be immersed in local culture and produce and to pick up some souvenirs, a visit to the market is a great opportunity for learners to interact in French with the welcoming stall owners.
We have been welcoming French learners to Château de la Baudonnière for many years, and it's the home of our flagship French immersion and adventure programme. The majority of the programme is conducted within the 100-acre grounds, using the Château’s varied facilities which include a climbing wall, assault course, lake and mini-farm.
Our premier programme immerses students in the language so they only hear, see and use French throughout their trip to create a truly authentic and realistic setting. We believe that in a week staying at the Château, students will have more exposure to speaking and hearing French language than is possible in an entire term of formal lessons back at school.
In fact, the majority of teachers who have taken their group have fed back that our programme improves confidence, vocabulary, understanding and pronunciation of the language, with many of the activities and learning linking to the outcomes of the MFL curriculum.
Immersive French language trip to Château de la Baudonnière
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