French

On your very first day in your new school you may expect one or two surprises, but for one of our young students the discovery was that a series of novels, written by their own grandmother, were sat proudly on the shelves of our CNED classroom!
Evelyne Brisou-Pellen has been an author since the early... 80’s. She started writing as she felt something was missing from the stories she was reading to her own children, and wanted stories to also be a way to discover a period in history and learn while reading. Evelyne’s novels are typically set in a documented historical context (she is passionate about history and her house is covered in books! She typically reads as much as she writes) and are targeted at pre-teens/teens, although some novels and books are accessible from a younger age, and many adults also read them. Writing her first major book in the mid 80’s and winning a major literary prize gave her the confidence to make this her career.

Students and staff came together to celebrate our annual Francophone Day on Wednesday.

The Early Years (Daycare to Nursery) were treated to a special French lesson. The children did really well and thoroughly enjoyed the activities brought to them, which definitely triggered their imagination and got...

The Year 4 pupils wrote a letter in French to be sent to an older person in a care home in Quebec, Canada. The children were very happy to have an opportunity to bring some joy to the older people who may feel a little lonely or isolate this Christmas and to use their French skills to write beautiful... letters. If your child would like to take part in this project, please see this link for more information:

During their French lessons, the students have enjoyed discovering some of the most famous French-speaking comic books like Tintin, Boule et Bill, Gaston, Astérix et Obélix. They found out where the first comics originated and how to create one from scratch. They developed their very own comics using... a storyline, characters, onomatopoeia and a punchline. Here are some of the soon-to-be-famous French comics: “L’anniversaire”, “L’arrestation”, “Devenir chevalier”, “Le pouvoir du skateboard”.

Our GCSE and A level French students set off for Paris on Thursday to rediscover (or discover) the sights and cultural richness of the French capital. With their teachers and their guide, the students visited le musee du Louvre and of course ensured they saw the Mona Lisa along the way. The group took... a stroll around Monmatre and walked the 280 steps at the top of the Arc de Triomphe. As the brunt of Storm Ciara started to take hold, the students only made it as far as the second floor of the Eiffel Tower but then enjoyed a final treasure hunt around the Marais neighbourhood before taking the Eurostar home today. It has been a wonderful way for four year groups to come together and make new memories as well as inspire their GCSE and A level studies in French for the coming months and years.

Year 9 pupils had the opportunity to practise their French speaking skills with renowned chef, JP Gravier, from the delicious local French restaurant “Le Petit Nantais”. The students were reading instructions in French and learning different methods of chopping and food preparation while making a... fruit salad and learning how to make a delicious chocolate mousse!

Year 5 students have been learning about the DROM during their French lessons this week. The DROM are French departments and regions overseas like La Guadeloupe, La Martinique, St-Pierre-et- Miquelon, La Nouvelle Calédonie, La Polynésie française, Les îles Kerguelen, Adélie, Wallis-et-Futuna etc.... Each student was assigned one territory to research and then create a poster displaying their findings. The students have been presenting their research during the course of the week, all spoken in French of course!