Sacré Coeur pupils visit Peebles

On Tuesday 18th April, four school students and one teacher from Hendaye in France arrived at Peebles High School.  This was the second leg of the European Partnership Project, and the French students had come to stay with the Scottish students whom they had hosted in November.

Laura Campbell, Kay Burnett, Alan Robertson and Simon Ritchie went to Hendaye with Mr Davidson in 2005 and enjoyed 5 days of French and Basque culture, cuisine and excellent hospitality as well as playing the role of ambassadors for the Scottish Borders.  Now it was the turn of the French pupils to experience our heritage and quotidian way of life.

On Tuesday evening, the French group arrived at the school from Edinburgh airport with Mr Davidson.  Once everyone had reacquainted themselves in a typically Gallic manner, it was dinner time and everyone made their way home with their guest.  After refreshment and some haute cuisine écossaise, we all went to have a good night's sleep in anticipation of the busy programme ahead.

Wednesday morning was spent with the French pupils attending classes in Peebles High School.  Denis, Amaya, Julien and Alain and their teacher (Denis' mum, Adeline) were welcomed into a French class in which their presence was seen as a valuable opportunity for people to show off their language skills.  Afterwards Simon, Kay and Alan gave the students a brief tour of the various departments of the school, which the guests found has a much wider curriculum than the French school, Sacré Coeur.  With time to kill, a brief spell of us acting as Peebles tour guides meant the guests could take in all the sites and sounds of the High Street (including the Old Parish Church and even a peep in the Bridge Inn). At lunchtime, the French guests and the Scottish students hopped on the bus to Innerleithen where the French savoured the unparalleled taste of the Scottish institution that is Caldwell's ice cream.  We were invited to Laura's for the afternoon and had fun using the trampoline and even venturing to the top of a nearby hill.  By Wednesday evening we were all exhausted from the day's exertion and went to Franco's pizzeria, which turned out to be extremely popular with our French guests.
 
The programme set for Thursday morning allowed the guests to attend a few more classes in various subjects, and later to make final preparations for their presentation on Hendaye and the Basque Country.   The French presentation was really well received by all.  Both Higher French classes and several members of staff, including Mr Brown, made up the audience.  Everyone learned a great deal about Hendaye, our twin town, and the Basque country's culture, scenery, people and traditions.  The presentation being in French abound with wonderful pictures meant that even those whose knowledge of French was somewhat rusty could understand what was being said through the images and sounds.  The group was applauded loudly, signalling the audience's appreciation for a great presentation.

With Friday being the last full day of the trip, Mr Davidson organised an all-day trip to Edinburgh for the French students and Adeline.  This was included a tour of Edinburgh Castle with the special treat of experiencing a 21 gun salute to celebrate the Queen's eightieth birthday.  We pretended that this was for Alain's birthday and also laid on a musical tribute by a military band.  (Click on Alain above to hear the musical tribute)  The French guests were in Edinburgh with students from Sweden (also here with the European Partnership Project) and enjoyed some retail therapy mixed with visits to some of the city's best attractions.  The trip to Edinburgh on Friday was undoubtedly the best loved activity of the week, and our guests later said how glad they were not to experience typical Scottish weather (they didn't really, of course, but the weather really was gorgeous).

Friday was a special day not only for Queen Elizabeth II, but also for Alain, one of the French pupils.  Everybody went to Clovenfords in the evening as Alan Robertson's family had kindly organised a party for him.  Everyone at the party had a scream, with outdoor activities such as diablo-throwing, plate-spinning, knife-juggling and flame-eating (the latter two being imaginary, of course).  When the midges arrived and began feasting on us, we all retired indoors for cake and celebration.  Again everyone really enjoyed the evening, and lots of pictures were taken.

The French guests were glad to get some sleep on Friday night, but were woken as kindly as possible before dawn on Saturday.  They were to be at Peebles High School by 6 am for their flight to Biarritz via London, and didn't even complain about the timing (in stark contrast to Simon who later needed several strong, large coffees to eliminate the need for matchsticks under the eyelids).  All of us Scots were sad to see our friends go after such a great time together, and wished them bon voyage as they went on their way.  We felt we had really exchanged culture, knowledge and ideas of each other's countries as well as e-mail addresses and phone numbers.  We hope the French enjoyed their stay in Scotland, and we are sure to stay in contact with them and to see them again before long.  Vive le European Partnership Project!