From the thirteenth to the eighteenth of October Third Year students from our school travelled to Nantes in France for a French Exchange that was organised by our French teacher Mr. Smith. We all travelled to Dublin Airport from the school on Thursday the thirteenth to catch our flight to Nantes. The bus was full of excitement to meet our French correspondents. We took the plane directly to Nantes Airport and when we arrived, we went straight to the French school where we finally came face to face with our correspondents. Ten minutes later, after awkward kisses on the cheek, we were going home with our French people for the first time. Some people lived very close to the school, but others had up to an hour commute every morning.
Friday morning, the Irish gathered again at the school, excited to see each other again. 
When our teachers Mr Smith and Ms Molloy arrived, we were brought to a French science class where we were given a task to come up with equipment in the lab in English and in French with the students which was great fun. After class the Irish set off to Nantes city centre where we visited several sites and attractions.
It was a very nice day and the good weather only emphasised the beauty of the town. We first went to “Les Machines d’Île”. We got to go on the three storey carousel with the theme of the sea, on which we also got a full view of the city. We got to see the machines inside the museum including the giant elephant, spider, and a heron which moved around, flew and interacted with us.
Afterwards we got another splendid view of the city from the museum’s prototype of a tree above the museum. We then had our lunch in the city centre and walked along the river where we saw an exhibition and memorial about the slave trade in France and how widespread it was. We also visited the château and the cathedral in the centre of Nantes, which were both beautiful buildings. After seeing the inside of the huge cathedral, we were allowed to go and explore some of the shops in Nantes by ourselves. We all really enjoyed the afternoon and went back to our French families in high spirits that evening.
Many people were a bit nervous for the weekend, but it turned out to be the best part of the exchange. Some people went out with their whole French family to local seaside villages such as Le Croisic, which is famous for salt marshes. Others went out with friends and did activities such as shopping and ice skating. Everyone had lots of fun with their French correspondents and began to feel more comfortable with speaking the language by Saturday. Each person did a different thing, but everyone enjoyed themselves and got lots of practice speaking French. Some people had not been to France before and were unsure of what food they would be eating for dinner. However, everyone soon realised that French cuisine was not all frogs’ legs and snails! Almost everyone tasted a new food. The French eat quite late at night, but nobody went hungry due to big feeds at lunch and dinner!
On Monday, we arrived back in school to take a trip to Angers. Angers is the hometown of the English teacher in the school who was organising the exchange with Mr Smith, Madame Lalaude so she came with us to give us a special tour. We took the TGV to Angers, which is a very fast train and it took about an hour to get there. First we visited the castle which was very beautiful. We listened to a tour as we went along, and it was very interesting to learn about the history of the town and the castle. We looked at some very detailed and intricate tapestries, made a long time ago. After the castle, we walked to the centre of Angers and ate our packed lunches that our families had given us. We were given two hours to walk around the town and shop if we wanted. It was great fun and many people purchased something for themselves as well as gifts for family members.
On Tuesday, we all arrived at the school as usual in the morning but brought our suitcases packed and ready with us. We said our goodbyes and thank you’s to our families at the school gates. Before leaving we all attended two classes in the school. Many people got to experience an English class which was very interesting for us. 
Other classes we took part in included, History/Geography, Physics, Maths, and French. We also got to experience eating in a canteen with our correspondents which was different and new for us. After we had enjoyed our lunch we had departed for the airport. We were waved off by our French friends and their teachers as we headed for the tram. We got to the airport in good time and relaxed for a bit before the flight. When we got back to Dublin we made our way back to the school on the bus where we were greeted by our vice principal, parents and family who had missed us while we were away. We were happy to be home but wanted to go back at the same time! We can’t wait until the French students come to Ireland in March.
Everybody really enjoyed the trip and learned a lot about the French language but also French culture. We hope lots more students will get the chance to take part in the exchange for years to come. It was a trip to remember and on behalf of all the students we would like to thank our teacher Mr Smith for organising the exchange and Ms Molloy who also accompanied us to France. Merci beaucoup!
Thanks to Sarah Oliver and Rachel Smyth for this super article on their Exchange trip and many thanks to Mr. Smith for the wonderful photos!
