Blog

We’d like to start off the 2011-2012 school year right by sharing some photos taken during Summer School, where we welcomed 26 6th grade students on August 31st and September 1st, 2011 at Collège Grand Air.

Activities ang games in English were led by four organisers, Mrs Gaborit, Mrs Spendov, Mrs Hird and Mrs Wiggins.  This immersion in British culture included tasting ‘Oh so British’ specialties such as apple pie with custard in the school restaurant !

 

An afternoon tea party and a little show prepared by the students rounded off the event and were attended by Mr Legrand, Headmaster of Lycée Grand Air, Mrs Verdon, Headmistress of Collège Grand Air and Mr Riou, Treasurer.

 

 A visit to the Globe or the Royal Shakespeare theatre at Stratford-upon- Avon are the two trips that all international pupils really  should aim for. These places bring the great Bard alive in a way that other thea tres do not. All English pupils have Shakespeare on their programme, right from 6e level and so many interesting activities are on offer provided by specialists – all we have to do is cross the Channel!

The 2^nde5 travelled to London from Thursday 26^th to Sunday 29^th May to see a performance of Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe theatre in London. We finished s tudying the play on the Wednesday and left La Baule at7h44  the next morning for London on the TGV via Lille and the Eurostar !  Mr Sau teron kindly took up his position as group vanguard and official photographer and Mr Guerer and Emily joined us at very short notice to replace Mme Giraud and Christopher who were unable to come at the last minute.

  At the splendid newly-renovated St Pancras International station we bought group tickets and braced ourselves to face the challenge of boarding London tube trains, in rush hour, as a group of 28 with suitcases (one of the reasons for taking a ‘small’ suitcase, although definitions of 'small' were open to discussion!) Wheels were good on the bigger cases as the tube, like the metro, specializes in long labyrinthine corridors that seem to go on forever. Nevertheless, we finally arrived at Palmer’s Lodge, a five minute walk from Swiss Cottage tube station, although the heavens opened in a splendid English summer downpour just as we arrived;  water streamed down the stairs and our scout came back soaked! So, we waited five minutes and then sprinted to the hostel. Settling in was a relief but after dinner a walk to the Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded certain records was voted onto the programme. We set off with the men leading and with some of the girls wishing they’d gone for chilly evening wear rather than disco fashion. Once at Abbey Road, the Beatle fans tried to walk across the famous crossing, although buses, taxis and cyclists made it rather a challenge.

The Globe is a splendid reconstitution of Shakespeare’s original theatre, destroyed by fire in 1614 but rebuilt  and completed in 1997. It is an open air theatre with a thatched roof and wooden seats. It is a magical place and a trip there at the end of the school year is a well-deserved reward for hard work in the classroom. The Globe are specialized in performing Shakespeare’s plays (of which there are 37, so there is plenty of variety!) and perform three or four each season. Sometimes they are all-male casts, as in 17^th century, sometimes all women but usually the costumes are period onces.  If they correspond to the texts studied they are an invaluable complement to class work and a cultural bonus. This performance of Much Ado was excellent and we got to meet Hero and Claudio the two young lovers in a 'Talking Theatre' session after the play. We also did a workshop with a Shakespeare Practitioner called TChoo who had played Queen Isabella of France in an earlier production. He led a brilliant workshop in a new teaching building. The work was as hoped, both great fun and very rich and stimulating, although the favorite activity was definitely 'Zombie' which works on group communication and team work and is A LOT OF FUN!!

After a quick recharging of batteries at Starbuck's, we set off on the tour of the Golden Triangle: the most famous sites in London, all within walking distance of Big Ben. Churchill's pidgeon-free statue, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, the Cenotaph, Horse Guards' Parade, St James' Park, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and finally Strada restaurant.(See album)  Mr Sauteron estimated 12 km when we'd finished and feet and legs confirmed this. Walking gives a chance to be part of the London scene and meet and greet the locals.

 

Saturday started with a leisurely stroll along the canal to Camden Lock, temple of shopping for all under 20s and many prize buys were exhibited at the lunchtime rendez-vous. Then off to Bankside for the performance of  Much Ado which was excellent, Beatrice and Benedick being exactly as they should be and we got to meet Hero and Claudio the two young lovers in a 'Talking Theatre' session after the play. Back to the hostel for tea and football and ready for an early start.

 

The return journey was exciting - we all remember with gratitude the Eurostar assistant at St Pancras who got us onto our train with a full 10 minutes to spare before departure. A splendid experience and a marvellous group, special mentions to Dorion who is definitely the best map-reader, navigator and hive of information, to Antoine for his communication skills and to everyone else for their efforts, good humour and hard work.

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Mrs Blasco

(this should have been a student report, but we ran out of time, so just this once it's my homework!)

The results have just been released and are very satisfactory for all. After a year of intense work in all subjects and a new version of the oral literature class shows 100% success rate: 5 references TB, 12 references Although, 5 A Good and 3 admitted.

A student got 20/20 History-Geo oral and those who played in the Winter room deConte in March took advantage of their extensive knowledge of the work to oral literature. The others had seen the play twice, once at Stratford in September and once in the MJC La Baule for a booster shot. 9 Notes 17 and 19 of 20 in oral are no strangers to these experiences. Average in language and literature is 15.88 / 20 this year for a class of 25, two times more students than any other year since 2003.

 A BIG PARTY !! 

The British Section of Lycée Grand Air celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday 16th April under beautiful clear blue skies. Festivities commenced at 3 pm when members of the parents association welcomed visitors to share in the friendly atmosphere. Shakespeare theatre performances and poem recitals by the students guided by their teachers were part of the entertainment so rich in culture.

The programme included: extracts from theatre performances from 2005-2010, past students meeting up and correspondence from the four corners of the world by former students, photo exibitions of the various activities from the first 10 years and celtique games. The Netball team from Redland High School for Girls, Bristol, who were on an exchange hosted by the 1er L and Mme Giraud and M Guerer also came to give a demonstration of their skill in this traditional English school sport for girls. Tea was served for those tempted to taste the delicious cakes and biscuits. Polo Shirts and mugs were sold on the day. More than 400 people enjoyed aperitifs in the presence of Mr Genet, the school headmaster, Madame Lamy, the headmistress of college, and Mr Mataireau the Mayor of La Baule. TheNaoned and District Pipe Band, music group from Nantes played some Scottish Highland music.

The evening continued with a dinner « So British » carefully prepared by the Chef of the school.

It was a successful day celebrated with friends, students, teachers and parents. Since the beginning of the school year in September, the anniversary was carefully planned by the teachers and the members of the Parents Association. Special thanks to the volunteers organizers of teatime, drinks, photos and poster displays, decorations, ticketing, and activities.

Three cheers for them. Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray.

Thank you to all who worked so hard to make such a successful day !

 

Translated by Li Khee and Lorraine. Thank you !

The students' party of the British Section

 On Friday, 20^thMay took place the students' party of the British Section. This year, the meeting point was at the « Jazz Volant », at La Bule Escoublac's airclub. The party began at 7pm but the most enthusiatic ones were already waiting at 6:30pm for the doors' opening. The mood was to party and the 77 present students launched themselves into the rythm of the music directed by DJ Ricco. We thank him for this superb animation! The nice weather allowed the enjoyance of the terrace and evening air in between two lively dances.

Seven adults watched over this memorable, including Mrs Chicaud, one of the Section's teacher.

Many thanks to all the people who prepared and supervised these moments of fun and joy.

June the third

we haven't forgotten about you at all. It's just that we got really busy ! Our day started early with breakfast at the hotel. We then walked through town to the Dockyards where we spent the best part of the day visiting all of the exhibits. The weather was fantastic and we all had a great time. We had curry for dinner which the kids either liked or found « interesting »... We found time after dinner for a game of soccer in the park and rounded off our day with another long stroll back to the hotel. We are pretty sure that all of us will be sleeping soundly tonight ! 

The Winter's Tale

25 students of the British section of Grand-Air rehearsed every Wednesday afternoon starting in September, to prepare for two representations of William Shakespeare'sThe Winter's Tale. It was then played in English, March 18th and 19th at the MJC of La Baule. This play was really enjoyable. We thank the students and their English teacher Mrs Helena Blasco, who directed the production of the play with the help of Mrs Lucie Baudin.

The Winter's Tale was most likely played for the first time in 1611.

The title suggests a tale told in winter near the fireplace. The imaginary and poetic setting hides, in fact, a more serious subject. Happily, the tragedy of the jealousy ends with a reconciliation, particularly moving in this play presented by the students. They were very successful at portraying different emotions and feelings.

The young actors were remarkable. We have to mention them all because each of them gave life to their character(s). To begin with, the young Olivier Laillé student in sixième (6h grade) played with freshness the role of Maximilius, innocent victim of the jealous delirious state of Leontes.

The moment when the sick spirit of the King collapses was interpreted in a delicate manner by Jasper Eaton. Queen Hermione's grace and dignity were expressed by the touching Cloe Parent. She was supported by her attentive ladies, Leane Gaury, Corinne Chancerel, Laeticia Garbaccio, and Celestine Denèle – who was also the kindMopsa, a shepherdess accompanied by malicious Dorcas, played by Manon Sauteron. The clever Paulina was incarnated by Caroline Lemarié.

King Polixenes, moved by the events, was played with preciseness by Olivier Blasco. William Bruch was the good Camillo. The beautifulcouple of lovers was ideally represented by Selena Chalet as Perdita, and Julien Dersy as Florizel.

Benjamin Smith as the Old Shepherd was successful at playing an octogenarian and Charlotte Coyle, as the Clown, his son, expressed all the vivacity of the role.

Pierre-Arthur Michaud, as the devoted Antogonus, ended up being devoured by a bear while his associate, the Mariner Romain Grizaud was running away. Pierre Thierry, Kenzo Szyjan, Mathieu Gaborit who played the Lords, were worthy of admiration. We enjoyed to see Matthew Coyle as a charming musician. Finally, Time, as a chorus, was represented by two young actresses with sumptuous dresses, Kaohsiung Dlamini and Taipei Dlamini. They portrayed the double face of Time, joy and terror, good and bad...

But who was the bear ?

All actors showed a good mastery of Shakespeare's language. Louison Lérein played the flute with talent. The public was filled with admiration for the dancers : Pauline Baudu, Selena Chalet, Charlotte Coyle, Célestine Denèle, Julien Dersy, Jasper Eaton, Laeticia Garbaccio, Romain Grizaud, Bryoni Hird, Pierre-Arthur Michau, Manon Sauteron, Pierre Henry. The very simple scenery was expressive and cleverly used while the lighting supported the acting beautifully.

The play presented to the public the damages caused by Leontes's jealousy – cold and death – and the reconciliation, promise of rebirth. The young actors and their professor, Mrs. Blasco, were applauded with enthusiasm.

This great success prepares the students for the OIB. The exam requests a good knowledge of The Winter's Tale.  

Translated by N.R., L.S., E.B.