Dear Parents/ Carers
On this site you will find all information regarding the 2025 trip to Lille.
The date of the trip is Monday 30 June to Friday 4th July 2025. Students will need to arrive to school early on Monday morning and will return late on Friday night. Exact timings will be confirmed later in the year.
In order to secure a place on the Lille Trip it is essential that the consent form is filled out by Friday 11 October, and that the payments are made by the deadline each half term. The total cost for the trip is £300 per student which can be paid through £60 installments at the end of each half term via the MCAS app. This includes transport, accommodation, activities and breakfast, lunch and dinner. As advance deposits need to be paid for the accomodation, transport, food and activities these payments are non refundable should a student decide to withdraw from the trip at a later stage. This price includes a £200 subsidiary which is being paid by Paradigm Trust in order to keep the costs as low as possible.
As this is an overseas trip students will require a passport to travel. We highly recommend that students travel on their own passport, which can be obtained through the government website. However, for those unable to travel on their own passport we will be organising a collective passport for British students. For those students travelling on an international passport, we will also require proof of their leave to remain in the UK. Due to the legal requirements of the British, French and Belgian governments it is essential that all forms on the legal documents page are completed by Friday 20 December 2024. This is a hard deadline and cannot be extended.
The aim of the visit is to extend students' cultural experiences. They will complete a range of activities provided by the humanities department, including a trip to a chocolate factory, visiting the sites of the First World War, and immersion into French culture in Lille City Centre and a visit to a theme park. The full itinerary on this website will be updated as tour guides and activities are confirmed.
We will be staying at the HI Hostel Lille for the duration of the trip. I have included further information regarding the hostel, including contact details on the website. There is a google form for students to complete showing who they would like to share a dorm with. While we will endeavour to place friends together, we will take into account our own professional judgement regarding behaviour issues in addition to the requirements of the hostel. We will not cater to mixed gender dormitories.
The safety of students on this visit is our number one priority. As teachers we want to feel confident that students are representing the school to a high standard and will follow our instructions without any issues arising. Due to this, we reserve the right to remove anyone from the trip who is not meeting the behaviour expectations within school. Any students who are involved in a serious incident will be automatically removed from the trip, and students who demonstrate persistent low level poor behaviour will also be removed.
Students may bring spending money with them as there will be opportunities for shopping or visiting French cafes at their own expense. The currency in France and Belgium is Euros, which can be obtained at the Sainsbury's on the Ransome Estate or any Bureau de Change. Students will also be able to use apple pay, bank cards or apps such as Revolut at most major shopping outlets.
A full Checklist can be found on the website showing exact dates when information and payments are due.
Kind Regards
Catherine Grover