How many trips to the Chateau have you done?

This was our 21st visit to the Château.

What was the main objective for your groups trip?

To bring the classroom to life, i.e. to experience what the children have learnt in the classroom in a real life context, both in terms of language use and History – seeing the D-Day beaches and the impact it had changing the course of WW2. Also, to link in with our ‘Harmony’ curriculum (nature and sustainability) and the soft skills (building resilience and independence).

Why do you choose Baffy/Teacher’s perspective/What are your groups favourite things about the Château? (Activities, Food, Location, Staff? Building/Grounds? etc). ?

I absolutely love coming to Baffy and it is always a pleasure to arrive there after what can be a lot of admin building up to the trip. It is a haven of tranquility and excitement at the same time. The children love it!

The château is in the perfect location for our trip – close to all the places we want to visit. This means you don’t need to waste time with lots of travelling whilst there and you can therefore include more excursions. The château itself is great as even though there may be two schools there, there is a clear separation. There is freedom for the children to run around and it is in a beautiful rural location. 

Being in the middle of the beautiful Normandy countryside, it ties in with our school philosophy of ‘Harmony’, as do some of the excursions (Les vergers de Ducy/La Chèvrerie du Mesnil/Les Caramels d’Isigny).

It is also a safe location and the addition of the lockable gate on the drive has added to this. The rooms suit the children and I particularly like being in the Main Building as the children are upstairs with staff at the ends of the corridor. 

The food is first class and it is always reassuring to have Thierry there. Pupils’ individual dietary needs are fully met, including coeliac, gluten intolerances, ARFID etc. and this is appreciated by both the children and parents. Lucie is always accommodating and approachable.

Using Pewsey Vale Coaches and having the same driver is great – there is a real sense of relief when you know the driver is reliable and safe and will get you to the places on time. Having had some in the past who have been less than accommodating, it just adds to the stress levels.

Any further information you would like to share with us, or is there anything you would suggest that could further improve your trips to Château du Baffy?

I think Room 222 is a bit cramped for 3 children – there isn’t much headroom for the two that are in the rafters and there is a background buzz from the telephone router. The bathroom is lovely though!

The WiFi connection can be patchy if you are staying in Villa Mathilde (unless it has been upgraded now) and tends to cut out, so you have to leep logging back in.

When you plan the trip well in advance, i.e. at least 8-9 months, it can be disappointing if an excursion is not available, especially if you have chatted to the children about in when advertising the trip.

French Trip Assembly 2026

Sofia S: Bonjour tout le monde et bienvenue! Today we are going to talk to you about the recent Year 7 trip to Normandy in Northern France. We had a super visit and did lots of really interesting and fun activities. Here is a snippet of what we got up to!

Aksel S: We gathered very early on the Monday morning at school – at 06:15am! Bags were gathered and packed lunches checked as we waited for the coach to arrive. Then we saw our coach arriving with our driver, Barry – aka Super Barry! Those of you in Year 8 will remember him from your trip last year.

Esme M: We set out en route to the Eurotunnel at Folkestone and having found out which groups we were in (for the purposes of head counting), we went into the terminal building to nip to the loo and for the staff to grab a coffee as they needed a caffeine boost!

Henry S: Soon we were driving down onto the train. Have you ever been on the tunnel? It’s one thing driving your car onto the train, a completely different thing getting a coach on there! You have to swing onto the train and out the other side before swinging back in and straightening up. Super Barry was a real pro!

Ava-Mae B: Madame Jones promised us 10 house points if we could spot a ‘un poisson’ in the tunnel! Simi and I drew a fish and showed them to her, so you owe us 10 house points, Madame Jones! It only took half an hour to get through the tunnel and it was ‘Bonjour La France!’  

Eva G: Soon we were feeling hungry again and after a few ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ questions, we stopped at the Aire de la Baie de Somme for lunch. It was a really nice service station which had a nature reserve, so we were able to look at the wildlife and feed the fish. Leu also played the piano which was inside – très bien joué, Leu!

Patrick K: Travelling down to Normandy, we were able to see the beautiful French countryside, lots of cows (‘les vaches’) and tractors (‘les tracteurs’) including wonderful fields of bright yellow rapeseed (‘le colza’). 

Harry H: We also crossed the Pont de Normandie – an incredible bridge which crosses the mouth of the River Seine and is divided into two sections which go really high up! We also watched Despicable Me 1 and 2. We arrived at the Château du Baffy ready for some down time and supper.

Charl M: The Château du Baffy is in the tiny hamlet of Colombiers-sur-Seulles in the middle of the French countryside, near the village of Creully which is where the BBC had their headquarters during D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. It’s a really beautiful building and the bedrooms all had ensuite bathrooms.

Birdie B: Oh my goodness, the food was amazing! We had three course meals with lots of baguette, and we ate very well. Thierry the chef has worked there for 30 years! For breakfast, we had pains au chocolat or croissants every day, a choice of cereals – the chocolate petals (‘pétales au chocolat’) were really popular as were the honey balls (‘boules au miel’).

Freddy L: We also made our own packed lunch every morning at breakfast time – ham and cheese baguette sandwiches were very popular as was the salami. Je voudrais du jambon et du fromage, s’il vous plaît, et un paquet de chips!

Olivia M: On Tuesday, we visited the town of Courseulles-Sur-Mer, which is situated on Juno beach where the joint Canadian and British forces landed on D-Day. Here, we explored a local market, where we were able to buy local produce. The strawberries were delicious! Some of us decided to get a hair braid – it was cool!

Isabelle B: J’ai acheté une crêpe au sucre et au citron – c’était délicieux! (pancake)

Esme M: Moi, j’ai acheté un casque – c’était cool! (baseball cap)

Alessia V: J’ai acheté un chapeau (hat)

Leu L: J’ai mangé des fraises délicieuses! (strawberries)

Misha F: After the market visit and a yummy packed lunch on the beach wall, we went to visit the German artillery battery at Longues-sur-Mer. France had been invaded and occupied during the Second World War. The German army built a series of gun emplacements along the French coastline. 

Leo Z: These formed part of the Atlantic Wall, a German defence built to try and protect German occupied territory from the Allied invasion. The guns could fire 19 kilometres out into the English Channel to try and sink British ships.

Josh D: Following this, we went to the Arromanches 360 cinema at the top of the cliffs overlooking Gold Beach. Inside, a special film is projected in HD onto nine different screens and tells the story of the terrible Battle of Normandy including pictures from the time. The film is a tribute to soldiers from all countries and to the 20,000 civilians who were killed during the battle to free Europe.

Leu L: We then walked down the path from the clifftop into the town of Arromanches, where we were treated to a yummy ice cream. Nous avons mangé des glaces – youpi! It was quite a hot day, though very windy, so there were lots of very chocolatey, sticky hands and mouths.  

Freddy B: J’ai choisi une glace à la vanille!

Nimi S: J’ai choisi une glace à la fraise!

Elsa T: J’ai choisi une glace au chocolat!

Purdey P: After this, we went into the D-Day Landings Museum in Arromanches. We put on audio headphones and learnt about the build up to D-Day and invasion of France. The museum looks out over Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbour B  which can still be seen today. The engineering and organisation for this was absolutely incredible, as was the fact that it was kept secret from the Nazis.

Maisie L: On Wednesday, our first visit was to a factory in Isigny, where they make caramels using local ingredients. Here we saw how caramels are produced and learnt about the process. We also got to try the caramels, with flavours including chocolate and apple. Miam miam! We were able to buy lots of things in the shop and we were all given a bag of caramels to take home!

Evie W: Our next visit of the day was in the middle of the countryside at a cider farm, Les Vergers de Ducy. Here they make organic apple juice, cider, calvados (it’s like an apple brandy), all specialities from Normandy. We were able to walk through the orchards and see nature and sustainability in action.

Sofia R: We were taught about the careful processes involved in making the drinks from the orchards to the bottle and got to taste test the apple juice, both still and sparkling. We also visited the shop where many of us bought the organic apple juice – the teachers drew the line at cider!

Eoin O’B: One of the highlights of the week was a visit to Festyland, a theme park with a Viking, Pirate and Medieval theme. There were some great rides and, even better, no queues! Some of us went on the rides too many times so felt a bit queasy! My favourite ride was the water slides! Madame Heard and Madame Jones also went on the rides. Here are some videos of the rides!

Dom B: After our evening meal, we went bowling in Courseulles by the sea. While initially struggling without the side barriers, there were quite a few strikes and congratulations to Eoin who got the winning score of 96! Amazing skill! We managed to pack in lots of activities that day and were quite tired at the end of it, so we all slept really well.

Alessia V: One of our favourite visits was to a goat’s farm where they make cheese, La Chèvrerie du Mesnil. This was led by a lovely farmer called Éric and his two very friendly dogs, Blacko and Inka. We watched a film about how goats cheese is made and Éric talked to us about what he does on the farm. 

Isabelle B: Next we went to see the baby goats, which were only 3 days old, and were able to pick them up and hold them. They were absolutely adorable! Some of us were tempted to smuggle one back on the coach – watch out Mums and Dads, you may have a new family pet! 

Sophie R: We went into the field with the goats following us – some were quite naughty, trying to nibble our clothes! We then got to taste the cheese, which was amazing, with flavours including herbs, dried tomato, sweet onion and turmeric. We devoured the whole lot!

Orlando L: Our next visit was a poignant trip to the American military cemetery at Omaha, where nine and a half thousand American servicemen are buried. They all took part in D-Day and the Normandy campaign. This was beautifully maintained and some of the groups were even fortunate enough to hear some stories of American soldiers from a lady from the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Freddie B: Our final visit was to the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-Sur-Mer, which was opened in 2024 by King Charles to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. This started off with a talk by the BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell, founder of the Normandy Memorial Trust. He talked about the importance of remembering D-Day before we watched a film about the events. 

Marla J: We then visited the actual memorial itself and looked at the columns, which contain the names of more than twenty-two thousand men and women. The majority of the names were those of British forces who lost their lives in D-Day or in the weeks that followed as the Allies fought their way through Normandy. It also includes the names of many French local civilians who were killed at the time.

Diya K: We were also privileged enough to see the ‘Standing With Giants’ installation – one thousand five hundred steel silhouettes of British soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who died on D-Day, the 6th June 1944. There were also silhouettes of two brave nurses, Dorothy Field and Molly Evershed, who died when their hospital ship was hit. They ensured that the 75 men they were looking after were safely taken off the ship. It was a very moving sight.

Claudia P: We finished off our activities with the Talent Show. These included some very informative school reports and a great rap about some of the teachers! Apparently, Mr Chino and Checked Shirt, aka Mr Lovegrove, was around when History was being made! 

Elsa T: The winner of the Talent Show, showing incredible balance and showmanship, was (drum roll please) …Toby! His plate spinning was thoroughly entertaining! If we’re lucky, he may do it at the end of assembly.

Nimi S: We made our way back on Friday, watching Ratatouille and Zootopia, as the staff had been Minioned out! We got an earlier crossing back so arrived back sooner than planned. Having unloaded the coach, clinking apple juice bottles and passports in hand, we made our way home full of stories to share. We had a great trip and thanks go to all the staff who took us. Merci beaucoup!

Toby: We all have great memories of the trip and it’s something for you to look forward to. My favourite activity was going to the goat farm because the goats were so adorable and funny – one of them tried to eat my finger! I think I became more independent as I asked for things on my own in French.

Evie: I also loved the goat farm as they were really cute and it was fun to know how the cheese was made because I really like cheese. I learnt how to be away from home and became more resilient – I surprised myself!

Harry L: I enjoyed going to Festyland as we were able to have some down time and I had lots of fun with my friends. It was great having Super Barry as our driver. It was a great trip and I think it has helped to make me become more independent as I had to make my own packed lunch and do more things for myself.

Isabelle: My favourite thing was the goat farm as we got to hold 3 day old baby goats. They were really cute! During the trip, I think that I developed my money skills by asking myself ‘Do I really need it?’

Ranger: I enjoyed lots of things, including being outside at the Château, going to the 360 cinema and seeing the film about D-Day and going to the British Normandy Memorial, learning more about WW2. I loved spending time with my friends and having fun.

Leu: I loved going bowling because there was a fun party atmosphere at the bowling alley with the drinks and music. Sometimes I got a good score but othertimes the bowling ball went in the gulley and I scored nothing! I had a really good time!

Alessia: I enjoyed the goat farm because I’ve never felt a goat before! Also, the market as I learnt how to buy things in French. The skill I developed during the trip was learning things and also making new friendships. Also, how to wake up in the morning!

Josh B: My favourite thing was going on the water slide at Festyland. Also, it was very moving seeing the graves of the soldiers at Omaha Cemetery – there was a shocking amount of scarifice to liberate Normandy and Europe during WW2. I tried hard to speak in French and started automatically answering in French.

Sofia R: My favourite thing was the glow in the dark bowling and also seeing the adorable baby goats – they warmed my heart. I loved the food, especially the quiche – the food was better there than at my home!

Ava-Mae B: I loved the trip, especially Festyland because the rides were fun and I bought some sweets. I also liked the goat farm because the baby kids were so cute! I developed my curiosity by trying different foods and I became more resilient.