Battlefields Trip – July 2018

Dear Parent/Carer

Re: Battlefields Trip – July 2018

We are offering Year 7 students an exciting opportunity to visit France for four days in July 2018.

It comes as part of a cross curricular learning project that all Year 7 students will undertake at school during terms 5 and 6. We want to offer PCSA students the opportunity to learn more about this important aspect of history.

As part of the project, the English faculty will be teaching the superb World War I novel "Private Peaceful", by Michael Morpurgo. The humanities faculty will be teaching World War I and the design and computing faculty will be using the latest technology with students to record their learning and reflections.

As part of this project we would like as many Year 7 students as possible to be able to have the opportunity to actually visit the battlefields of World War I.

This project and trip will also provide students with the chance to bring their languages learning to life. Naturally, whilst in France, there will also be time for students to experience the sights, sounds and culture of the country; providing the opportunity to practise French speaking with a relevance that is sometimes hard to replicate in the classroom.

Students currently studying Spanish will have the opportunity to experience the culture and basic linguistic skills of a new language, thus broadening their horizon. We plan to depart from PCSA on the morning of Sunday 15 July and return on the evening of Wednesday 18 July. We will travel by coach and the channel tunnel.

We will be staying in a Youth Hostel and provisional itinerary includes: visit to Albert to visit la Musée de Somme WW1 Museum at Albert, the Circuit of Remembrance guided tour, a visit to Arras to tour Wellington Quarry, and a French market in the town of Amiens.

As well as being great fun, we expect the trip to provide a powerful, moving and memorable experience. The provisional cost per student will be £275, which includes travel, accommodation, breakfasts, lunches and evening meals, insurance costs and entrance fees. The cost, however, may vary depending on the number of students who sign up for the trip.

You will be informed of the confirmed figure as soon as possible. Students will also need to bring some spending money. They will need to buy a postcard and a stamp, and have money for any gifts they wish to bring home. We recommend that they do not bring more than €20. Students will need to bring a packed lunch for the journey to France.

They will need to wear sensible clothes and footwear for outdoor activities, but will not be required to wear school uniform. Each student on the trip will need their own passport – if your child has one please check that it will still be valid for the above dates. If not, please collect an application form from the Post Office and apply in good time, as it can be a lengthy process.

Each student also needs a European Health Insurance card which avoids the need to pay for medical treatment abroad. This has replaced the old E111 forms and also needs to be valid for the dates above. Application should be made online and the EHIC cards are free. The Passport and EHIC cards will need to be handed into the Finance Office by 25 May 2018 in order that Advance Passenger Information can be submitted. (Continued)

The attached permission and medical forms will also need to be filled out and tetanus injections and jabs must be current. There are limited places on the trip as we are unfortunately constrained by the capacity of the available accommodation at a busy time of year. If you wish your child to attend the trip we would be grateful if you could fill in the enclosed form and return to Mr Plumridge in humanities by Tuesday 23 January.

Should the trip be oversubscribed names will be drawn randomly and we will write advising of the allocation of places. A £100 nonrefundable deposit will then be payable on Parent Pay by Monday 29 January, with the balance due over three further instalments, currently expected to be £50 on 28 February, £50 on the 30 March and £70 on the 30 April.

We will be holding an information evening for parents and students nearer to our departure date. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like any additional information or have any further questions.

Yours sincerely

Christelle Parsons Oliver Plumridge

Central Leader LGU Teacher of Humanities Encs