On the 5th of June a group of 12 pupils from Arbroath High School travelled to Albi in the South of France to meet their French ‘pen pals’. Our pupils started exchanging letters earlier in the year as part of their ongoing work within the Modern Languages department. However, this is the first time there has been an exchange of this kind organised by the school and it represents an exciting opportunity for the pupils involved.

The pupils stayed with the families of their respective ‘pen pals’. During the week they were given the chance to take part in a wide range of activities which related to the work of other departments in school, with sports like kayaking in the river Tarn, art appreciation through a visit to the Toulouse Lautrec museum, and further visits to the local cathedral, a coal museum, the Cap’ Découverte theme park and a museum dedicated to the famous explorer Lapérouse who appears in the S2 History course at AHS. The pupils also had a chance to spend a day in Toulouse at the Cité de l’Espace theme park.

One additional feature was the chance to attend a French school and follow the timetables of their ‘pen pals’. This proved to be an enlightening experience for many of our pupils – not the least significant part of which was in learning that the school day begins at eight am and does not end until five pm!

Most pupils involved have already commented that their French has improved a lot and that they are more confident in using the language. Overall it was a very positive experience and now we wait for next year and the return visit to be made by the French ‘pen pals.’