A-Level French students visit London

Last month, we took a group of Y12 and Y13 French students to London for a day immersed in French culture.

The day began with a two-hour guided tour of Soho, where students explored the influence of French immigrants in the area. Christian, our guide, conducted the entire tour in French, sharing insights about France’s relationship with the UK over the centuries. Students engaged actively by answering a quiz and questions from our guide along the way.  For some students, it was their second guided tour with Christian, and they were very proud to see how much more they understood compared to last year’s tour.

For lunch, they visited a French restaurant where they ordered crêpes entirely in French, giving them a chance to practice their speaking and listening skills.

In the afternoon, we visited a French bookshop, where students browsed a rich selection of French books and received personalised recommendations from the staff—all in French!

The students had an amazing day and expressed their excitement about returning to these places with friends or family in the future.

Here’s what some of them had to say about the experience:

Alice (Y13)

I loved learning how French history connected to London, and being able to explore parts of London I hadn’t been to before. However my favourite thing was being able to sing a duet with our guide, Christian Michel.

April (Y12)

What interested me the most was that we got to explore the church of Notre Dame de France and the history of the French settlement in London. I mainly loved eating the french crepes, and I loved looking around the bookshop! It was so interesting to see all the types of french books they offered.

Maya (Y12)

I loved hearing about the connection to French history from all the different buildings. The crepe place was really good with their service and the food.

Sophie (Y12)

I most enjoyed learning all about the history of the French people in London – who they were, why they came to London and how they settled in. I found it very interesting to see how they influenced and shaped Soho into how it is today. Also, the crepes were delicious!