Three days in London.

The imposing Tudor gatehouse of Hampton Court Palace provided the backdrop for the latest exchange visit from Ste Marie de Neuilly, the school in Paris which occupies the site we were on from 1862 – 1911.  This is the second year of our programme of exchange visits and Lower IV enjoyed playing host to their penpals from France over the three day visit last week, from 9^th – 11^th May, which followed on from our pupils’ visit to Paris earlier in the year.

This was a visit packed with events.  On their first day here the pupils from Ste Marie enjoyed taking part in English lessons with Lower IV, focussing on Chaucer and The Pardoner’s tale.  This culminated in both French and English students taking roles and performing the tale in front of an audience.

    

At the end of the day the girls from Ste Marie enjoyed spending time with their host families, who  generously hosted them throughout their stay.

Friday saw our French guests take a tour of London, returning to enjoy afternoon tea and games at St Augustine’s Priory.

    

On Saturday everyone took off by coach to enjoy a morning at Hampton Court Palace.  All explored the Tudor kitchens, the Great Hall and even the Haunted Corridor!  Afterwards a well-deserved rest was had in the beautiful grounds.

         

The visit passed all too quickly, Ste Marie pupils and teachers returning to Paris on Saturday afternoon.  We all enjoyed this latest visit and look forward to further exchanges in the near future.  Thank you to all the families who welcomed our guests so warmly and to the staff both from Ste Marie and from St Augustine’s Priory who all made this visit possible.  But most of all, thank you to the girls from both schools whose enthusiasm makes the exchanges with Ste Marie de Neuilly such a joy.

Meanwhile, members of the St Augustine’s Priory Association are eagerly anticipating their visit to Paris at the end of November, an opportunity to see where the school resided and where our community of nuns once lived.