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Super easy to reach from the UK, France's Opal Coast is a great destination for educational tours and Year 6 residentials. Base yourself at Voyager's own hotel, Le Moulin aux Draps, or at our recommended partner accommodation.
Contact Voyager's local experts to design a suitable itinerary for your group.
The Opal Coast offers everything teachers look for in a French school trip — it’s close to home, affordable and packed with cultural, historical and hands-on learning experiences.
As the only UK operator with its own accommodation and local team in the area, Voyager School Travel gives you expert advice, flexible itineraries and unbeatable in-country support.
More about Voyager's Moulin aux Draps school centre in the Pas de Calais.
Talk to our local experts about creating a cross-curricular itinerary that meets your group’s learning objectives.
The Calais Museum of Lace and Fashion is one of the last surviving examples of the collective lace factories that made Calais famous in the 19th century. Still a working production site today, the museum introduces students to current collaborations with leading fashion houses and a guided tour is available to book.
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.
© Monica Arellano-Ongpin
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!
© openroads.com
Spend the afternoon in this historic port city wandering the charming streets, sampling the local seafood and spending some time on the sandy beach. Be sure to stop by the impressive cathedral.
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.
Maximise your group's language learning with this fun animateur-led challenge—designed to give students opportunities to improve their French comprehension & speaking skills in situ.
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!
Immerse yourselves in the French countryside as you pedal your way along a 10 km-long disused railway track in a 4-person kart! This fun outdoor activity is sure to be a hit among your students, especially if you’re travelling in the summer.
Navigate through the Audomarois marsh, a UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Saint-Omer, on an awesome boat tour where you’ll uncover the abundance of flora & fauna native to the wetland.
Visit the oldest operating theme park in the whole of France! You'll find enough there to keep students of all ages entertained—not least the thrilling Triops rollercoaster.
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!
© Alec Brown
The seaside town of Le Touquet has miles of white sandy beaches for school groups to enjoy some down time on. Students can enjoy a fun and educational walking tour that explores the town’s beautiful scenery and local heritage. You'll get hands-on in creative workshops at the Town Hall, designing your own stained-glass windows or medieval-style coats of arms to take home. These interactive activities bring local heritage to life in an engaging and memorable way.
Le Dragon de Calais is a giant, fire-breathing mechanical dragon, made of steel and carved wood, that takes you on a 45-minute ride along the Calais seafront. Climb aboard this impressive moving sculpture to enjoy stunning coastal views while the dragon comes to life with sound, movement, and special effects, a unique and unforgettable experience!
A great opportunity to interact with the local community, your group can partake in a workshop in a creative discipline of your choice delivered in French or English by a local artist/maker.
Team up and prepare for battle! Based in a safe, sandy, forested area, this outdoor laser tag game is great fun for groups. There's also a volleyball pitch and picnic area for students to eat lunch.
The Museum of Resistance in Bondues is housed in a 19th-century fort that was occupied by German troops in WWI & WWII. Students will learn about the lives of the fighters of the French resistance and how they worked with the British Intelligence Service.
The Museum of Fine Arts houses a diverse range of classic and contemporary masterpieces, including a permanent collection of Auguste Rodin, the pioneering French artist who's considered to be the founder of modern sculpture.
This WWI memorial is on the site where the British Army suffered their worst ever casualties in a single day. A bronze Caribou monument stands as the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
This museum focuses on the Battle of Azincourt and the Hundred Years' War. An interactive exhibition includes a multimedia tour of the French and English camps and the battlefield of Azincourt. It is specifically designed for younger students learning medieval history.
Desvres has a thriving ceramics industry thanks to the area's raw materials. Enjoy a guided tour & partake in a workshop where students will learn about the production and craft their own souvenir.
This is a museum housed in a former colliery that explores the three centuries of coal mining in northern France. The buildings are complete with the massive antique machinery and the highlight of the visit is a guided tour underground!
Aux Mignardises is a cosy, family-run crêperie in Le Touquet, serving freshly made crêpes, waffles, and homemade ice cream. With over 40 sweet and savoury options, it’s a great spot to enjoy local flavours in a friendly and welcoming setting, the perfect stop off after a day of exploring!
© Damian Entwistle
This huge dome in the hills was built to house & launch rockets in WWII—now, it's a museum & planetarium. Learn the interesting story of how the mission pivoted from war to space exploration.
© Tristram Biggs
At The Carrière Wellington museum in Arras, students can walk the same network of WWI tunnels which were utilised by the British troops in a surprise attack on the Germans.
© Corentin Fohlen
The Museum of the Great War is the largest WWI museum in Europe. There are many exhibits that demonstrate the social impact of the war on regular civilians, making it a great resource for students to learn more about how war impacted day to day life.
© David Nicholls
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.
The village of Pozières was completely destroyed in the WWI Battle of the Somme. This memorial commemorates the more than 14,000 casualties of the battle and is a stark visual reminder of the scale of the loss of life for students.
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.
© Clemens Vasters
Delville Wood was the scene of heavy combat during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and once more in 1918. The cemetery remembers the 5,500 South African servicemen buried there, of which over half are unidentified.
© Timothy Shawn Hack
The striking Canadian National Vimy Memorial is dedicated to the memory of the Canadian servicemen who lost their lives in WWI—particularly in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The massive carter was created by the explosion of a mine during the WWI Battle of the Somme. The site has since been preserved to act as a war memorial dedicated to the fallen soldiers.
Located near Saint-Omer, this WWII bunker was built as a V2 rocket launch site. Your group can see the result of the ally bombing of the bunker and explore various in & outdoor exhibits.
Groups can now spend a day taking part in activities at Le Moulin aux Draps. Take your pick from bread making, orienteering, drama, circus skills, French lessons, archery and aeroball. All activities are led by our experienced animateurs in either French or English.
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.
The students will be taught map reading using orienteering games and courses in the centre grounds. As well as using the target language for features, directions and map symbols the team orienteering challenges will involve quizzes along with finding the control markers.
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...).
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!
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:
The best time to visit France
Key points to consider when planning your school trip dates
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Book an inspection visit
Join us on a subsidised visit to see the Opal Coast programme in action.
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Overall I think the trip was an incredible success. ... I have seen substantial improvement in some pupils' grades since returning (we got straight back into mock exams)Jennifer Doyle, MFL Teacher at Atherton High School
Voyager offers well-organised trips with strong educational content and good safety management. Communication is reliable, and the excursions are excellent.Mounira Lane, Head of French at Notre Dame School
Overall, it was a great trip. Students loved it. They enjoyed all the activities (Bagatelle, evening ones, archery...) ... We thought it was great for them to have the opportunity to listen and speak French most of the time.Stephane Ghyselen, MFL Teacher at East Bergholt High School
Christmas & Wintersports at Hôtel du Moulin, Opal Coast
A magical French Christmas market trip with a ski-taster session at our Opal Coast school centre, a short hop from Calais.
Winter treats seasonal special at le Moulin aux Draps
A dazzling festival jam-packed with French delights at our Opal Coast residential centre.
French Language Residential at Le Moulin aux Draps, Opal Coast
On-site activities & cultural visits, led in French by our native speaking animateurs, a short hop from the UK at our 3* hotel in Hauts-de-France
WWI history trip to the Somme Battlefields, Northern France
Bespoke WW1 history tours of the battlefields of the Somme, staying at our 3* Moulin aux Draps residential centre in Northern France
WWI history school trip to Ypres & the Belgium Battlefields
Visit key battlefields & memorials on this WW1 history tour to Belgium, staying at approved accommodation in Ypres
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