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Opal Coast French Language School Trips & Tours

The Opal Coast is an ideal destination for groups seeking to enhance language skills through a range of educational and cultural visits. 

Combined with an array of memorable visits, a French Language school trip to the Opal Coast enhances classroom-based learning by giving pupils the opportunity to practise conversational French, listening skills and increase confidence in their ability. 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 whilst on visits, during mealtimes and throughout their entire school trip. Our French Language Enrichment Experience can be included in your school trip too.

 

Sample itinerary

Our sample itinerary provides you with an idea of the visits you can cover during your trip. We can tailor-make an itinerary to support your specific learning outcomes.

Morning Afternoon Evening
1 Morning flight from Ireland Arrive at NST's Chateau d'Ebblinghem Evening activity of your choice
2 Visit a local boulangerie Visit L'Escargotiere du Choquel snail farm & learn how one of France’s most famous foods is reared Evening activity of your choice
3 Visit Boulogne market & complete the Boulogne town trail Visit Nausicaa Sea Centre containing exhibitions, activities, and aquariums containing 4,000 fish Farewell Disco
4 Depart for return flight to Ireland
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Morning Morning flight from Ireland
Afternoon Arrive at NST's Chateau d'Ebblinghem
Evening Evening activity of your choice
Morning Visit a local boulangerie
Afternoon Visit L'Escargotiere du Choquel snail farm & learn how one of France’s most famous foods is reared
Evening Evening activity of your choice
Morning Visit Boulogne market & complete the Boulogne town trail
Afternoon Visit Nausicaa Sea Centre containing exhibitions, activities, and aquariums containing 4,000 fish
Evening Farewell Disco
Morning Depart for return flight to Ireland
Afternoon
Evening

On-tour support

On-tour support includes...


Accommodation

Popular options in the Opal Coast


Top visits

French Language Enrichment Experience at NST’s Château d’Ebblinghem

Exclusive to NST

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

Boulogne-sur-Mer

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.

 

Local Goat Farm

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. 

Les Chocolats de Beussent

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!

Les Escargotières

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. 

Local Boulangerie Visit

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. 

Natur’Pom Cider Farm

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!

Sweet Factory

Learn about the history of the sweet shop and see how the sweets and lollipops are made. Pupils will learn from the French commentary, demonstrations and be able to taste the delicious sweets produced. 

La Coupole

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.

Boulangerie Escoeuilles

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 Sea Centre

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 three amazing worlds: "Journey on the High Seas,"  "Mankind and Shores" and "Ocean and Climate." 

Nausicaa offer 1 hour educational workshops which will really bring your trip to life. The workshops currently available are:
Zoom into Marine Life - Observe tiny fauna magnified thousands of times on a wide screen and discover the importance of a good water quality for survival of the species.
Calculate your ecological footprint - Thanks to a 20 question quiz, discover your ecological footprint and your impact on climate change!
Zoom into marine biodiversity - At the lab, pupils will observe tiny marine animals through microscopes. They will discover shared characteristics according to the classification of living beings.
Sharks! Not even scared! - Let’s discover the shark and its importance in the Ocean. Learn more about this fascinating animal and look at it differently.

You can also take a 'backstage tour' of Nausicaa to find out what goes on behind the scenes at the Sea Centre. How was it built? What do the manta rays and the other animals of the big tank eat?

Town Trails

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

 

Language Workshops at Lille & Boulogne Universities

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).

Bellewaerde Theme Park

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

Aqualud

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

Hélicéa Leisure Centre, Boulogne-sur-Mer

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.

La Gaufre du Pays Waffle Factory Visit

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!

Louvre-Lens Museum

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.

The Lighthouse – Le Touquet

If you like adventure, and you’re not afraid of heights, climb the 274 steps to the top of the Lighthouse for fabulous 360 degree views of Le Touquet.


Evening activites

  • Organised evening activities at the château (including a French night, snail tasting, making traditional tarte au sucre, mini Olympics, a disco or karaoke, Superhero Challenge, NST’s Got Talent, boules...and much more!)
  • Excellent recreational facilities at the château (including a games room, a teachers’ bar, a shop, two football pitches, volleyball area and four hectacres of private grounds
  • Most other hotels can provide a room for groups to use in the evening for quizzes or discos

Educational resources

Free Go Explore journals
We understand that learning resources form an important part of a language tour. Our free Go Explore educational resources are a great tool for pupils to record their language experience and build their confidence when exploring another culture, language and location. 

With space to add information, pre-visit notes, a daily journal about what they’ve seen and learnt and space for relevant vocabulary our journals are useful for assisting in controlled assessment preparation and is a valuable memento of time spent abroad.

 


Transport

We offer flights from a variety of departure airports and we’ll work with you to plan your route at the best value possible.

Flight


Giving you full support throughout

Before your tour

  • Your own dedicated NST contact
  • Bespoke tour itineraries
  • Unrivalled local knowledge & expertise
  • Curriculum linked visit programmes
  • Great value for money - no hidden costs
  • Free group leader inspection visits
  • Risk assessment guidance
  • Safety assured, transport, accommodation and visits

Whilst you're away

  • Free educational resources
  • Group-friendly accommodation
  • Exceptional standards of coaching
  • On-tour support from our reps on the ground
  • Support & assistance from our specialists guides throughout your tour
  • 24/7 support just a call away
  • Extensive group travel insurance

On your return

  • Priority rebooking services
  • Rewarding your loyalty with our reward scheme
  • You say, we listen - we're committed to continuously improving our tours
  • School travel company of choice since 1996