A fantastic opportunity for your students to boost their language skills in an authentic French setting staying at our Moulin aux Draps centre on the Opal Coast.. Our experienced native-speaking animateurs lead students on a programme of onsite language activities and local cultural excursions entirely in French.
Stay at our Moulin aux Draps residential centre where our experienced French-native animateurs will lead your school tour of the Opal Coast and provide a full programme of activities to create an immersive French experience. The Opal Coast features historic towns, vast sandy beaches, chocolate factories, goat’s cheese farms and everything in between making it very popular with French learners and first-time visitors to France.
All activities, excursions and evening entertainment is conducted in French by our experienced animateurs.
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Hôtel du Moulin aux Draps
Set in 18 acres of beautiful French countryside, our Hôtel du Moulin residential centre is the perfect safe environment for your students. |
© 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.
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.
Étaples Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Étaples, near Boulogne on the north-west coast of France. The cemetery commemorates over 11,500 lives lost in WWI and WWII.
Boasting, among other things, the highest water chute in Europe, Bellewaerde Park is just outside Ypres, close to the French-Belgian border. Enjoy thrilling rides, marvel at exotic animals and explore the park.
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.
Visit a local goat's cheese farm to meet the goats, find out how cheese is made and try some for yourself!
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!
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.
Want to add a bit of adventure to your trip and give students a chance to overcome their fears? Add a visit to an outdoor activity centre where groups can climb, swing and soar through the great outdoors.
© 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!
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.
© 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.
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.
© Alec Brown
The seaside town of Le Touquet has miles of white sandy beaches for school groups to enjoy some down time on. In the centre of the town, you will find quaint cafés and confectionery shops.
© 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.
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.
Groups can now spend a day taking part in French activities at Le Moulin aux Draps. Take your pick from bread making, orienteering, drama, circus skills, French lessons, archery, aeroball, and a mini farm. All activities are supervised by our experienced animateurs and conducted entirely in French to make an enriching language session.
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 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.
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:
Our Opal Parle French language immersion programme includes:
Extras to budget for
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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"We were really impressed with the centre, and as we come from the north of England, it was a real bonus to only have one hour from Calais to the centre."Kate Whyte, Head of French at Bradford Grammar School
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