More pupils enjoy time in France thanks to Turing Scheme!

Following our successful Year 11 trip in February, a further 27 Year 10 pupils enjoyed a week in France working with our partner school Lycée Jean Moulin, thanks to the Turing Scheme.

Travelling from Manchester to north-east France, pupils spent a week working with French staff and pupils to develop confidence in speaking, to learn about the history and culture of the area, and to strengthen the now ten-year partnership between our two schools.

“The partnership between our school and the Lycée is incredibly important,” said Mr Morrison, who arranged the visits.

“Our friends and colleagues there are so passionate about our two schools, and are so welcoming to our pupils. They really make us feel at home and have hosted so many Burnage boys over the years – and helped each one create lifelong memories and make them more enthusiastic about language study.”

The visit entailed a range of activities, including orienteering, sport, cooking, history and cultural visits. Of course, there were plenty of opportunities to practice our French speaking with pupils from the Lycée, and new friends from a local middle school, Collège Andrée-Viénot in Rocroi.

On our hosts, Faran said, “the staff were extremely helpful and kind, as they helped us however they could. Speaking with the students was really fun as I learned about the French lifestyle from the eyes of people close to my own age.

“The students from the collège went out of their way to help me understand French words and how to structure my sentences properly. I am extremely grateful to them and they deserve recognition for helping me improve my French.”

One particularly powerful day saw the group hear about the Jüdenlager, a World War Two forced labour camp. The group had a lesson in French to learn about how Lycée pupils carried out research on the victims of the labour camp, and how they contributed to a memorial there. We then visited the site, learning about the conditions and what happened to those interred. We had the chance to meet the grand-daughter of one of the survivors – and incredibly, her husband is a former Burnage Academy pupil. It was a moving and poignant moment, and we left a Burnage Academy badge and flowers at the end of the memorial.

A further emotional visit was to the French National War Cemetery, Notre Dame de Lorette. This is the final resting place of more than 40,000 soldiers who died in the area during the First World War.

There was of course, some lighter moments too, such as the cookery competition, the orienteering race around the forest, or recording a bilingual podcast about our visit. Of course, the visit to Paris was the memorable highlight for many!

Ahmed, who thoroughly enjoyed the trip, told us, “I loved it as I got to improve my French greatly and make some new friends. They can help me with my languages, and vice versa.”

Taha said, “it was very different to French trips that other schools do as we were able to stay there and live life as French students for the week.”

Shaurya added, “The area where we went was amazing: the people, the schools, the environment - absolutely beautiful. It was an experience I would never be able to have anywhere else.”

In total, 76 Burnage Academy pupils have benefited from 5 days in France in the last two years alone – a wonderful addition to their French GCSE course. The trips have been fully funded thanks to The Turing Scheme, meaning there was no cost whatsoever to pupils or their family.

Ms Doyle accompanied the Year 10 visit and also attended the 2023 Turing Scheme trip.

“Once again it was tremendous to watch our students grow in confidence in speaking French and really embracing the French culture. For a lot of the students this was their first time away from home and for some their first time out of the UK.

“The opportunity that the Turing Scheme has given our students will leave lasting memories that will inspire them to embrace other cultures and open their minds to the world outside their own city.”

Burnage Academy would like to thank The Turing Scheme, and all staff and students from Lycée Jean Moulin and Collège Andrée-Viénot, for making the visit possible.