Year 8 Trip to Normandy

On Monday 30^th June 40 excited Year 8 students met in the dining hall to embark on their Normandy trip. We travelled by coach to Portsmouth and thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad. We arrived in Portsmouth and checked in ready for our ferry to Caen. Once we had embarked on the ferry, we had dinner in the lounge with the students enjoying chicken nuggets and chips. It was soon time for bed and the students looked forward to seeing their cabins. Although they were surprised when they were told how early breakfast was! The students were delighted to see the gorgeous sunrise from the ferry whilst eating their croissant and pain au chocolat the next morning. We disembarked the ferry and made our way to The British Memorial before heading to Arromanches for lunch and some free time. It was a very hot day but this did not put Year 8 off having a game of basketball in the square. In the afternoon, we visited the Arromanches 360 cinema to learn more about the history of D Day. Later, we arrived at our hotel and checked in to our rooms before a dinner of couscous, risotto and fruit salad.

On day 2 the weather had changed and we were greeted by rain, thunder and lightning. Year 8 were prepared and were ready to complete the Bayeux town trail. They all completed the town trail with great enthusiasm and enjoyed learning about the area. We then visited the Bayeux tapestry which the students enjoyed learning about as they listened to their audio guide. During the afternoon visited the Biscuiterie d’Asnelles and learnt about how the biscuits were made before cutting our own biscuits. We also had a short time on the beach. Later on, we visited the American Cemetery and Omaha beach.

Our final day the weather had improved and it was very warm again. We visited Mont St Michel once we had climbed all the steps to reach the Abbaye with our guide. Year 8 were fantastic and listened attentively to our tour guides throughout the visit. This was followed by some free time before heading back to Caen for something to eat and some shopping.

It was then time to head back to the port and embark on our homeward journey back to Wellington.

Well done to all of Year 8 for their fantastic behaviour during the trip. It was a pleasure to lead the trip and we hope you have all made lots of new memories. Thank you also to Mr Beeley, Mr Walker, Mrs Firth and Miss Brankin for their support throughout.

Miss Purdy