Opal Coast French Language School Trips & Tours

Our French Language Enrichment Experience has been designed to develop conversational and comprehension skills through a range of exciting target language-focused excursions and activities with an emphasis on enrichment experiences.

Throughout your tour, pupils will have daily interactions with French speakers to help build their confidence when communicating in a variety of social situations. No matter what your group’s age or ability, your experience can be pitched at exactly the right level to enrich their learning and enable your pupils to engage with the target language. 

With the support of your own French-speaking Groupie at NST’s Château d’Ebblinghem, your pupils will be encouraged to use their language skills at all times, for example, during morning language briefings, mealtimes and evening activities.

Your Groupie will liaise with you on arrival to confirm your group’s language requirements, to support differentiated learning styles and to ensure that your trip is meeting your needs. Then put your learning into practice by interacting with native French speakers on a series of local visits!

Find out more about our French Language Enrichment Experience. 

This port town provides several cultural experiences located close together. 

• Take a guided tour of the town and practise your language skills with the local French guide. 
• Explore the Roman old town, spending time in its shops and cafés and practising language skills. 
• Pupils can also compare French life past and present. 
• Local market days are Wednesday and Saturday. Pupils can interact with traders, build language confidence and pick up a bargain or two.

Gain an insight into French farming and cheese making. There are also opportunities for cheese tasting and, at certain times of the year, to help milk the goats. 

Learn about the industry of chocolate making and combine the demonstrations of melting, moulding and coating with worksheets, a guided tour of the workshop (in English or French), and the chance to enjoy tasting samples!

Get a real taste of France! At a working snail farm, your group will learn how one of France’s most famous foods is reared. Then sit back and see which of your pupils will be first to sample one for themselves. 

There are a number of boulangeries in the region where your pupils will watch and listen to the baker describe, in French, the process of making traditional French bread and croissants, before getting the chance to produce and eat their own. 

Visit the organic orchards at this cider farm and learn about the ecosystem of the farm, the cycle of the plant and organic production. Visits can be adapted to the age of pupils and there is an on-site shop for tasty souvenirs!

Take a tour of the sweet factory located in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where pupils will learn from the French commentary, demonstrations and be able to taste the delicious sweets produced. 

This fascinating museum was once the Nazi’s planned V2 rocket base. It now showcases the story of Hitler’s secret weapon and also of French life during WWII.

The bomb damaged remains of this V2 assembly and launching site house a museum covering the themes of the 1940s occupation of Northern France, the German secret weapons, the Cold War and the conquest of space.

Learn how Henry V’s weakened and outnumbered army defeated the French in 1415. This fascinating museum contains a wealth of documents, reproductions and photographic enlargements, copies of weapons and armour and a scale model of the battlefield. Students will gain a valuable insight into how and why battles were fought, get to touch and handle the arms and armour and interact with full-size talking figures.

At this traditional boulangerie only French is spoken. Your pupils will learn new phrases as they see the making and baking of bread, brioche and papin pies, before leaving with a fresh croissant or pain au chocolat.

Nausicaá promises you an unforgettable voyage to the heart of the Ocean! Discover the 1,600 species who call the Aquarium home. A visit here will convince you that the Ocean is not only a wondrous and rich resource; it is also the future of Mankind. This fascinating sea centre promotes learning through interactive exhibits. Groups can explore two amazing worlds: "Journey on the High Seas" and "Mankind and Shores". Their range of educational workshops is now available for all age groups in French or English, covering marine-based topics such as ecology, marine life and tides.

Follow trail instructions and answer questions in French in this informative way to explore the town. NST’s exclusive trails are an excellent method of getting pupils to read, repeat and understand French words and phrases. Town trails are available in: 

• Aire-sur-la-Lys 
• Boulogne-sur-Mer 
• St Omer

Lessons at the universities of Lille and Boulogne can be tailored to the ability of your group as well as your choice of topic. Your group will be split into classes of up to 15 pupils to ensure the maximum individual participation of each pupil, who will then go on to use their enhanced abilities and confidence in speaking the language for the remainder of the visit. These lessons are available year-round from Monday through to Saturday (excluding August).

Spend a day at this fantastic theme park, home to a wonderful mix of rollercoasters, shows, animals and water features.

Home to over 5,000m² of wave pools and water slides that will keep your pupils active whilst they’re away.

Relax between, or after, visits at this fabulous leisure centre. Its ten lane swimming pool and large ice-skating rink are popular with our groups.

This shop in Calais makes delicious chocolates daily, and also offers demonstrations and workshops on the chocolate-making process and its history.

A guided tour of bee-keeping museum with a glass hive that shows the bees at work. Opportunities afterwards for honey tasting.

Did you know the waffle is one of the oldest biscuits in the world? During this visit you will find out about the production of waffles and have a chance to see the Little Museum of Waffle Houplines. This delicious and educational tour ends with a tasting of course ... a great moment of pleasure for your taste buds!

See 5000 years of art history at the Louvre-Lens museum. Explore the museum’s exhibitions and discover masterpieces and sculptures in this beautiful art museum.