Senior School News

Last call for Lower 5 and Upper 5 Exchange / Cultural visit to Paris

We have decided to amalgamate this year's Exchange and Cultural visits to Paris . There are still some spaces available for girls who would like to take part in the full exchange. 

Girls who go for this option will be paired up with a French teenager from our partner school in St Mandé, which adjoins the Bois de Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris.  They will stay with the French family and will spend the weekend with them.  On the other days, they will take part in visits to places of interest within the capital.  In return, they then have their French partner to stay in April. 

We expect the French party to arrive on 16 April and to leave on 22 April (end of Easter holidays and beginning of Summer Term).   The reciprocal nature of the exchange lowers the cost, which we expect to be approximately £270.   The exact amount will depend on the price of the Eurostar tickets when I am in a position to buy them, and the rate of exchange. 

It MAY be possible for a few girls who are unable to take on the responsibility of hosting a French student to stay with a French family as a paying guest. Girls who are unable to take part in the exchange, but would still like to go and visit Paris, will stay with BSHG staff in a nearby hotel and still take part in all the planned visits and activities.   At the weekend when the other girls are with the French families, we will take in a variety of other activities.

Please note that the February visit is two nights longer than the proposed October cultural visit, so the cost may rise to approximately £390.  This includes all travel, entrance fees, bed and breakfast accommodation, and insurance.  Girls will have the opportunity to buy a sandwich for a light lunch each day, and we will have a meal together in a restaurant each evening.  

I very much hope that all girls who would like to go to Paris will be able to join us, either as part of the exchange or simply as a participant in the cultural visit.   Letters with reply slips were distributed to girls last week.  Reply slips must be returned to me with a cheque for £70 (payable to The Harpur Trust) by 10 October at the very latest.   If you have any queries about this trip, please do not hesitate to contact me: arrowsmith.d@bedfordhigh.co.uk .  

Delyth Arrowsmith Head of French