French Language and Culture Explored on Battlefields Trip

Published by St Mary's Calne on Sunday 9th of November 2025

UIV students on the Battlefields trip took part in French-speaking activities in the beautiful towns of Lille and Arras. In Arras, they set off in groups on an outdoor escape game in which they had to decipher codes and puzzles in a race to crack the final code. Only one group managed this successfully, thanks to the mathematicians and coders in the team.

The following day, in the wonderful city of Lille, they visited the renowned Palais des Beaux-Arts, where they enjoyed guided tours in French (with a little translation help from Mme Lecamp), exploring paintings by Van Gogh, Goya and Monet, to name but a few.

A cultural and linguistic scavenger hunt around the city centre saw the girls discovering the cathedral, buying stamps and waffles, and conversing with local people—hopefully in French! After an hour’s shopping in and around La Grand-Place, they were rewarded with an ice cream, which they had to order using their newly acquired language skills. We’re not sure whether they preferred the Belgian chocolaterie or the magasin de glaces in Lille, but they certainly made the most of the gourmandise on their trip!

It was lovely to see the girls throwing themselves into the speaking activities and immersing themselves in all things French and Belgian.

Mrs Jacqui Northcote-Green, MFL Department