A grand total of 88 students and 8 staff had an early start on Wednesday 7^th March leaving the school at 6.00am to travel through the Eurotunnel and onwards to Boulogne. Once there, the students practised their French whilst buying souvenirs from the market stalls. Many Eiffel Tower Keyrings were bought along with hats and sun glasses which was rather ironic as the heavens opened and the rain came down. The Year 7 group included Anthony Kennard who practiced his French vocabulary asking perfectly for a coffee eclair from the shop assistant in the Patisserie.

After lunch the continental explorers jumped back on the coaches and travelled down some very narrow country lanes arriving at their destination, The Beussent Chocolate Factory. Here, the students met Beussent’s answer to Willie Wonka, a lovely chocolatier who talked them through the process from start to finish. He was able to capture the students’ attention with his enthusiastic explanation of all things chocolate from the growing of the cocoa pods in Ecuador, drying them under banana leaves and finally the magic of turning bitter tasting chocolate nibs into the smoothest most delicious truffles. After patiently watching chocolates being handmade and listening to the talk, the students were able to try the product, it was an instant hit.

The day ended with a visit to the shop attached to the family owned factory and Euros were then spent filling pockets with amazing chocolate treats with a large number of Mother’s Day presents being bought. Mrs Palmer, who joined the group on the outing said, “The students were brilliant and they really enjoyed the experience of speaking another language – and being understood! The chocolate Factory was a big hit – with teachers and students”.