French language school trip to Château de Chantereine, Upper Normandy
Your French learners are immersed in the French language and culture at Château de Chantereine, on upper Normandy’s Alabaster Coast. The whole programme – from breakfast to evening games and everything in between - is led in French by native-speaking animateurs to give maximum exposure to the language throughout your trip.
Voyager exclusive accommodation
Key stage 2 – 16+
Native French animateurs
Mar - Oct
Evening entertainment
Workbooks
Our new French language centre in upper Normandy
Take your students to Château de Chantereine, conveniently located less than two hours from Calais in the pretty Normandy fishing village of Criel-sur-Mer.
Watch as the centre's team of native French animateurs educate, elevate & entertain your learners as they're led through a fun-filled programme of activities and excursions - entirely in French! You're sure to see improvements in your students' listening skills, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Explore the cultural highlights of the region, such as Rouen - steeped in history from William the Conqueror and Joan of Arc - Albert and the surrounding WWI battlefields of the Somme, plus the Bay of Somme, with its protected flora & fauna and marine wildlife.
Our Normandy specialists will tailor your itinerary to your unique learning objectives and interests
Day 1
Board your coach at school for your channel crossing to Calais
Stop en route in Boulogne for lunch (subject to timings)
Arrive at the centre in the afternoon, meet your group's animateur and unpack
Evening treasure hunt to fully explore the grounds of Château de Chantereine
Day 2 - Market Mission & Outdoor Adventure
Students will use their French skills on the local Dieppe stallholders during our popular market mission exercise
An afternoon of onsite language activities with your animateur (e.g. learning how to make French bread, circus skills or pétanque).
Back to the Château for evening meal followed by games on the local beach
Day 3 - Bay of Somme
Board the coach for the Baie of Somme to learn about the unique natural ecology of this protected area.
Explore the dunes, forests and marshes of the Somme Bay nature reserve. Guided nature walk and seal discovery.
Picnic on the beach
An afternoon spent visiting a chocolaterie, Amiens zoo or the floating garden museum.
Dinner and French quiz back at the Château
Day 4 - Historic Rouen
A morning exploring historic Rouen, affectionately known as ‘little Paris’ and famous for its delicious macarons.
Don't miss picturesque Place de Vieux Marche, where Joan of Arc met her end, the ossary at Aitre Saint-Maclou and St Quen's Abbey
Visit a local goat cheese farm to see how cheese is made - all in French of course!
Farewell party
Day 5
Wave goodbye to your animateur before boarding your coach home
Arrive back at school in the afternoon
Location
Le Château de Chantereine Rue de Chantereine 16910 Criel-sur-Mer, France
Ideally located for cultural and historic attractions, this 17th-century Château is set in four acres of gardens - plenty of green space for students to explore.
Select the appropriate excursions to build a bespoke trip tailored to your students' interests and learning objectives.
Dairy Farm
Snail Farm
Chocolate workshop
Goat's cheese farm
Bakery workshop
Nausicaá National Sea Centre
Market mission
Sand Yachting
Treetop Adventure Park
Bay of Somme Guided Walk
Somme 1916 Museum
Thiepval Memorial
Le Tréport
Tourist train
Les Hortillonnages
Rouen Cathedral
Historial Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen
Aître Saint-Maclou, Rouen
Dairy Farm
Located in the heart of the Pays de Bray, the friendly farmer will make sure your students have a fun-filled time meeting the resident cows and calves. Your group will get to taste some of the produce from biscuits to caramel—and even milk the cows!
Snail Farm
Escargot may not actually be a staple of the French diet but that's no reason not to indulge in a bit of fun on this popular visit. Your students are sure to love (or wince at) the accompanying snail tasting.
Chocolate workshop
We can arrange for this workshop tour, where your group will learn how a local French chocolaterie produces their chocolate, to be led in either English or French. Students will even get a chance to taste the chocolates too!
Goat's cheese farm
Visit a local goat's cheese farm to meet the goats and find out how cheese is made. Students can even have a try at milking the goats, and trying some cheese for themselves!
At a local boulangerie, a baker will perform a baking demonstration for your group in French. Students will walk away with a croissant and a pain au chocolat each!
Nausicaá National Sea Centre
The largest marine life centre in Europe is home to 1,600 species and promotes sustainability and marine management. This is a fun and educational cross-curricular visit for groups.
Market mission
Visit a local market with your animateur where teams of students will be given money to buy food for lunch. Students will be tasked with ordering in French, creating a great opportunity to interact with the friendly stall owners in their native language. Students will also have free time to pick up some souvenirs.
Sand Yachting
Sand yachting offers a gentle and accessible approach to all, accompanied by state-qualified instructors, set off to discover the natural gems of the Baie de Somme.
Treetop Adventure Park
Want to add a bit of adventure to your trip and give students a chance to overcome their fears? Climb, swing and soar through the great outdoors! The treetop adventure park is situated on a 450-hectare forest and provides a variety of options for school groups including aerial courses, zip line, belvedere, luge track and mini-golf.
Bay of Somme Guided Walk
Pack a pair of wellies or old shoes you don't mind getting ruined for this excursion! Explore this historic bay with the largest wild colony of seals in the North of France. On a guided nature hike your students will learn about the rare flora and fauna of this protected nature reserve, observe migratory birds, and discover seals in their natural environment. Alternatively, choose a self-guided visit to the Bay.
Somme 1916 Museum
Want your students to get a greater understanding of the lives of soldiers during WWI? This museum, where the exhibits are housed in tunnels 10 metres underground, is your best choice.
The largest British war memorial in the world is known as the "Memorial to the Missing". A moving tribute to the 72,000+ servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme in WWI.
Le Tréport
Among the many coastal towns along the Alabaster Coast, Le Tréport lives to the rhythm of the sea. Ride the funicular railway from the top of the cliff, through the chalk tunnel and come out above the rooftops to take in the beautiful views.
Tourist train
Choose from 3 different routes on this Petit Train where your group can discover the towns of Le Tréport, Eu and Mers-les-Bains. Stay on and explore all 3 or hop off when you fancy, it's up to you. The journey time to each town is 35, 45 and 75 minutes respectively.
Les Hortillonnages
This outstanding open-air museum is dedicated to the creation of beautiful marsh gardens, which you can even float your way through on a pleasant boat trip! Browse collection amassed by a couple of 'hortillons' (marsh gardeners) to illustrate their lives' work.
Rouen Cathedral
Over 800 years old, this Roman catholic cathedral is famous for its three towers, each in a different style, and the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet.
Historial Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen
Be transported to the 15th century and immersed in one of France's most famous judicial investigations in history, the pardon Joan of Arc, burned at the stake 25 years prior. Also stop by Église Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc the see a statue of the martyr.
Aître Saint-Maclou, Rouen
Be sure to visit this creepy historic ossuary when you're in Rouen, expanded in the 14th century to accommodate the overwhelming number of fatalities from war, famine and the Black Plague. Check out the beauty of its facades and its macabre sculpted wood decor.
Activities
The Upper Normandy area offers a great range of interesting natural, historical and cultural excursions. But if you'd like to spend some time at Château de Chantereine, we can arrange a morning or afternoon of onsite French language activities with your animateur. Click on the activities below to see what is available at Château de Chantereine.
Bread making
Circus skills
Pétanque
Team-building games
Sports tournament
Workbook activities
Bread making
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.
Circus skills
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...).
Pétanque
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.
Team-building games
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.
Sports tournament
Making the most of Château de Chantereine's fantastic multi-sports complex, students will work in teams to compete for the prestigious Coupe de Normandie. But there's a catch. All games, rules, refereeing and team-talk is conducted in French. Strictly no English allowed - and the animateur's word is final!
Workbook activities
The workbooks are the ultimate companion throughout the stay. It is used at the start of each activity to introduce key language that the students will use throughout the trip.
Filled with games, quizzes, and crosswords, it makes learning a new language easy and fun to learn.
Included
Our French language immersion programme includes:
A fun programme of guided cultural excursions and evening games, all led in French, by the centre's team of French-native animateurs
French language activity workbook per student
Full board and lodging at Château de Chantereine
Private lounge area for teachers
Return coach travel and channel crossing
Free teacher to student ratio approx 1:8
24-hour emergency support
Digital access to itineraries, tickets & documents all in one place with the Vamoos travel app
Supplements for small groups, single teacher rooms and additional adults
Resources
Ready-made resources to get your trip off the ground
These ready-made trip resources are designed to reduce your admin and help speed up the process of planning, promoting and getting approval for your trip:
I chose this trip because I wanted my students to see they could use what I'd taught them to communicate in French. During the trip, I could definitely see an improvement in their attitudes. Since our return, the atmosphere in lessons has been far better.
John Gaffin, Head of Languages at Lawrence Sheriff School
Students noticed a real change in their ability to understand and also have a go at speaking French as the week progressed
James Sleightholm, Head of French at Saffron Walden County High School
We made some wonderful memories on this trip with our students which will last them a lifetime. Voyager was an excellent company to work with. I really appreciated the calls whilst we were there to check everything had gone okay. I felt we were valued and that our safety and enjoyment were important to them.
Kathleen McLaughlin, MFL Teacher at Gosforth Junior High Academy
Other trips you may be interested in
French Language Residential at La Grand'Ferme, Lower Normandy
Experience a fun mix of cultural visits & on-site activities led in French by native speaking animateurs at a farmhouse gîte near Mont St Michel
