Earlier this month, 21 Year 10 and 12 students spent a week in the pretty town of Oloron Sainte-Marie in the Pyrénées on the French exchange. After an early start, we were warmly welcomed by the host school on arrival before students left to spend the weekend with their exchange partners. During the week we enjoyed a wide variety of activities in the warm sunshine, including a visit to the Côte Basque to see the seaside towns of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz. Students also spent time with their partners in school to experience life as a French ‘lycéen’, and all enjoyed an afternoon on the sports field for an international rugby match. We were fortunate to visit the regional capital Pau and its magnificent château and in Oloron itself we were treated to a meeting with the deputy Mayor at the ‘Mairie’ and a visit to the Lindt chocolate factory. By the end of the week many students did not want to leave and we look forward to welcoming our French friends in March."