Sauveterre - January 2008
On Wednesday 9th January, our latest intrepid Year 7 pupils departed from Newcastle Airport for their eagerly awaited term in France at the Chateau de Sauveterre. With B.A.'s cancellation of the Gatwick route, we went to Toulouse for the first time via Amsterdam with KLM.
It was a very straightforward journey and we met Mr Stacchini at Toulouse with minibuses to take us directly to the Chateau. We arrived a good two hours ahead of the the rest of the party, allowing us time to explore, play games and become familiar with the Chatea and its facilities.
When the larger group arrived, we hungrily sat down for our first meal, which included a scrumptious plate of Saucisses de Toulouse. We were told which bedrooms we were in and settled down to get some sleep and to get to know our new room mates.
The first full day was a long one, during which we met all the teachers twice, as they asked us questions and gave us French to read and write. Everything, without exception, was in French! They were assessing our ability in French so we could be setted in five different classes according to our standards. We also played tennis and at the end of the day, had our first go at running La Course. At lunch, we celebrated the Fete des Rois and on each table, one person won a special trinket that was planted in the Galette des Rois. Andrew Hay won a mini Obelix and Victoria Smith also pulled a figure out. They both got to wear the special crown!
On Friday we were put into our new class groups and started lessons in earnest. We were already finding that we could understand most of what the teachers were saying to us.
By the weekend, we were quite tired. In the morning, Rory's group went to the market in L'Isle Jourdain. The whole group of us listened to the first part of Tom Sawyer in French, read by Madame Roujas and translated by Mr Lavers for us. In the afternoon we played games in the park outside.
On Sunday we had great day out, on excursion to the Chateau de Lespugue, where we had a picnic in the sun. We went for a walk along the Gorge de la Save, where we also had a chance to go into some little caves in the hillside.
On Monday, we felt well settled in and the routine seemed more normal. Already, time is going more quickly and we feel completely at home at Sauveterre."
From comments made by the Year 7 group to Mr Spencer
Below - some photographs taken by Mr. Spencer during the first week.
