Opal Coast Cultural 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.

Give your pupils an insight into 19th & 20th century French Life in this re-created French Village. They’ll develop their French vocabulary as they enter the specially constructed windmill, school, bakers shop, garage, and the chapel, all complete with the equipment of a bygone age.

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.

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?

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. 

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. 

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

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

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!

Le Touquet sits at the estuary of the River Canche and is the perfect location for Tourism Studies. Observe and describe key sites and locations, and gather information to produce a sightseeing guide. Le Parc de l’Estuaire also offers the opportunity to study the natural sand dune and woodland ecosystems of this area.

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.

Famous for their culinary credentials, see how these delicious biscuits are made.

Famous for pottery, visit the Ceramics Museum in Desvres and take part in a pottery workshop.

Visit this dairy farm and see how the animals are reared and how their milk is used to make the delicious cheese.

Tour the visitor centre and small museum of the Arques Crystal Glass factory. The works was founded by the Durand family in 1825 to make demijohns for Bordeaux winemakers. Today, it markets a full range of tableware products in more than 160 countries.

Established in Calais, inside an authentic nineteenth century lace factory, the Museum of Lace and Fashion is a specialist museum for the famous lace woven on looms. 

Spend a fun couple of hours wandering around this zoo and enjoy the antics of the wildlife. 

Take a guided tour of the underground refuges at Naours. Hollowed out of the limestone by local people as a refuge during invasions, pupils will love wandering around this maze of 28 tunnels and 300 chambers.

Ride aboard the Calais Dragon and discover a breathtaking view of Calais, the beach and the Côte d'Opale. The dragon awakens and a unique 45-minute journey begins.

Image credit: Fred Collier, Ville de Calais

The Opal Coast is a fantastic location to get a real taste of France. On this four-day fun-filled food fest, your pupils will have the opportunity to experience traditional dishes, go shopping at the local markets, and put their cooking skills to the test! You’ll also have your own Group Co-ordinator organising fun evening activities to keep everyone entertained.

• Take a visit to a Local Boulangerie where your pupils will watch and learn the process of making traditional French bread and croissants, before getting the chance to produce and eat their own.

• Experience a French market and try out some language skills whilst buying food - return to the château to make their dishes. Other activities at the château include making traditional tarte au sucre, crêpe making and dégustation de fromage.

• Did you know the waffle is one of the oldest biscuits in the world? Take a delicious and educational waffle factory tour, which ends with a tasting of course.

• Gain an insight into French farming and cheese making at a local goat farm. There is also opportunity for cheese tasting and, at certain times of the year, to help milk the goats.

• Take a tour of a sweet factory where your pupils will be able to taste the delicious sweets produced there.

• Get a real taste of France! At a working snail farm, L’Escargotière - 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.

• Visit a chocolate factory for an introduction on the history of chocolate, plus a demonstration of chocolate making ... and chocolate tasting!

Challenge, inspire and engage your pupils with a four-day French Language trip to Northern France. Your pupils will participate in traditional French activities and enjoy an array of cultural visits on the Opal Coast, where they’ll have the opportunity to interact with native speakers and practise their language skills. Challenge them to keep a diary of their experiences in French - using our FREE exclusive Go Explore journal.

• Join in the French language Enrichment Experience at the Château - Your group will be assigned a French speaking Group Co-ordinator to encourage your pupils to engage with the French language throughout the day, especially when using high frequency phrases and questions.

• Take your group out on a fun town treasure trail followed by a visit to a working snail farm, L’Escargotière.

• Visit a local traditional boulangerie where 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.

• French quiz night hosted by your own Group Co-ordinator.

• Take part in crêpe making, traditional tarte au sucre and cheese tasting.

• Spend the day at Bellewaerde Theme Park with its numerous rides and attractions – there will also be a brand new indoor Aqua park which is due to open in Spring 2019.