Bon Voyage! Doncaster SEND students enjoy French adventure

The students, aged 16-19 years-old spent four days enjoying a range of activities whilst they explored St Omer in northeast France.

They visited Le Touquet, a beach town to the south of Calais, where they played on the beach and learnt about French seaside cuisine during a pastry and ice cream tour.

Having had a paddle in the sea, the students also managed to spot President Macron’s holiday home.

The students even got to visit a French theme park, testing their courage on rides and rollercoasters. The bravery continued later in that evening when the students took part in a snail tasting session which received mixed reviews.

While a great time was had by all, the residential provided students with a valuable opportunity to gain practical life experiences, helping them improve their independence, learn new skills, increase their confidence by travelling to an unknown place and meeting new people and engaging in new activities outside of their routine and comfort zone.

In doing so, this trip enhanced the practical and hands-on experiences which already form an important part of the post-16 curriculum at Coppice School.

Their resilience, development and overall enjoyment of the trip demonstrates what a great opportunity overseas residentials can be for all young people as they get to immerse themselves within different cultures and learn about new currencies, cuisines and languages with their friends and peers.

For many students, it also marked their first-time leaving Doncaster and their families.

This opportunity was made possible by the amazing collaborative fundraising efforts of the local community. This included, four members of staff raising more than £2,500 after completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge; one young man, whose brother is a student at Coppice School, raising more than £200 doing sponsored exercises; and Friends of Coppice School, the school’s PTA, organising a ticketed fundraising meal at Mumbai Restaurant in Doncaster, featuring a successful raffle thanks to some very generous bidders.

Friends of Coppice School also organised a karaoke evening at The Blue Bell in Hatfield, which raised additional funds and provided students with an opportunity to socialise out of school and develop the confidence to sing in front of a crowd.

Chris Medwell, Director of Post-16 Provision at Coppice School who accompanied the students on the trip, said: “The school selected St Omer for this residential because of its beauty and history. The students gained so much more from this experience than we could have expected, with the trip full of fun activities and interesting sights to explore and discover. Everyone had such an incredible time and consequently, we have already started planning next year’s trip.”

Natalie Swearman, Head Teacher of Coppice School, expressed her gratitude for the trip by saying: “I would like to thank all of the staff involved for the hard work, commitment and dedication it took to organise, fundraise and make this trip happen. Additionally, this trip could not have gone ahead without the parents of our students placing their trust in us, the wider community for their amazing support and generous donations, and our young people for pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. We are all incredibly proud of their achievements.

“The determined efforts of Coppice students and staff demonstrate that this truly is a ‘small school with a big heart’ and we are very excited for more trips in the future.”