Arnold House tradition dictates that, in the first full week of Year 8, the boys burst into action with a residential visit to the beautiful region of Burgundy in France, to the tiny village of Méluzien. Tradition also dictates that the Year 8 boys burst back into school a week later, full of excitement and energy, overflowing with stories and memories of their adventures in France and eager to show off the results of the superb language tuition they enjoyed during their stay.
Nothing can replace the benefits of an immersive language learning experience, especially when backed up by exciting adventurous activities such as zip-wiring and kayaking and cultural experiences such as cooking and interviewing real French speakers. Even after such a short stay, the results of the boys’ linguistic endeavours are immediately there for all to hear. It is easy sometimes to think that such a residential is really an excuse for some fun in the Burgundy countryside, but in reality the boys work extremely hard on their French, achieve great progress, they learn to live and work together in close quarters – yes, even keeping their dorms clean and tidy and showering EVERY day! There is a lot of fun, but the outcome is one of great achievement and a significant uptick in confidence when speaking French. And oh, the snails and spiders…another annual tradition which is proudly repeated every year.
This is quite an undertaking for a group of such young people – especially given the trials and tribulations of being away from home, crossing borders, an unfamiliar environment where they are required to speak French almost all the time – even to the extent that they must go to a market and buy their own nutritious lunch using fresh produce and their own hands – on a budget! Of course, as Arnold House boys, they rose to the challenge and left a superbly positive impression on all whom they encountered, whether in the local shops, on the Eurostar or in any of the venues we visited.
We are used to hearing positive feedback from our hosts here in Méluzien, but this year, we all agreed on how exceptionally the boys have behaved and participated in class and how supportive they have been to each other when some of our cohort may not have felt so confident in some of the more adventurous activities. It has made us as their teachers very proud.
I am working on next year’s residential already and I hope that the current Year 7 boys will enjoy themselves and gain just as much from this wonderful experience as their predecessors have for the past 15 years or more.
Andrew Pyner
Head of Modern Foreign Language
