As part of the guided studies portion of their A Level French course, year 13 students earlier this year visited Avignon, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (the south of France, for us geographically inept). Strictly an educational trip, students were obliged to roam the streets of the city, and at the mercy of the street performers advertising events in the Festival D’Avignon (the annual theatre festival that takes place in the city) were encouraged to converse in French with total strangers. Students were lucky enough to be in the country for the most important date in the French calendar, Bastille Day, which commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison – a symbol of the French Revolution, which took place more than two centuries ago. Celebrated in Avignon with a spectacular fireworks display over the river Rhône and live music in the heart of the city, the festival afforded our school ambassadors a taste of French nightlife. Visits to the Palais du Papes and the Roman amphitheatre in nearby Arles satisfied historical interest, while a dramatic performance of Albert Camus’ L’Étranger served as the trip’s cultural nutrition. However, it wasn’t all fun and games, and Year 13 were eager to get back to damp, soggy Bristol, decidedly sick of the thirty-seven degree sunshine.

Daniel Halford