Practical Arrangements

May 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians

Here is some more information about the Woldingham exchange to France. I apologise for the delay in allocating girls to their partners – there was a huge delay on the French side while we waited for their input! Hopefully your daughters have now established contact with their partners and found out a little about them.

Home leg: The French girls will arrive in school on Friday 12 June – probably during the afternoon but we have yet to hear from them re their shuttle booking. They will be coming from the school in France by coach and shuttle. When they arrive we will welcome them into the school and their partners will look after them for the rest of the day, accompanying them to their lessons. Boarders will spend Friday night in school with their partners and day girls will take their partners home at the normal time on Friday.

The girls will be free to go on Saturday morning as usual at midday. All French exchange students are expecting to be taken out for the weekend as agreed. They will need to return to school either on Sunday night or Monday morning as usual.

We have organised a programme for the French girls as follows:
Monday 15 – in school with partners in the morning, afternoon trip to Oxted
Tuesday 16 – all day trip for French to London
Wednesday 17 – in school with partners all day
Thursday 18 – all day trip for French to Hampton Court and boat trip
Friday 19 – both our girls and the French girls will leave together by coach for the return trip to France.

In France: The French school have organised a programme of activities for our girls:
Monday 22 – all day trip to Paris
Tuesday 23 – all day excursion to Lille
Wednesday 24 – in school with partners
Thursday 25 - in school with partners (it is the last day of term) and a sporting afternoon for French and English
Friday 26 – return to England by coach and shuttle – we will confirm the return time once this has been finalised by our coach company.
Our girls do not need to take uniform for school.



What to take: the weather will be similar in France to what we will be experiencing therefore the girls should take appropriate clothing. They do not need school uniform but they should dress appropriately for school and the outings - it should protect their modesty and not display bare flesh please around the middle or be too short – I rely on your discretion for appropriate clothing.
As the girls are travelling by coach and shuttle there are no weight restrictions for their cases but they should be encouraged to pack sensibly!
It would be appropriate for the girls to take a suitable gift for the French family.
Girls should not bring expensive equipment or jewellery with them.

Pocket money: the outings in France will be paid for therefore the girls will need pocket money for souvenirs, ice creams, drinks etc. They should take Euros and ensure that they are kept safely. If the French families take the girls out on the weekend they will pay for that, similarly if you take your French visitor out please pay for her as a reciprocal agreement.

Forms: please complete and return to me the official school consent form and emergency contact details form by Monday 8 June. I also enclose the key facts document for the school Insurance Policy. However it is also useful for your daughter to bring her EHIC Medical card if she holds UK nationality and/or private insurance details if you have them.
Please also send in a photocopy of your daughter’s passport for our records – this is very important.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me by email: tierneys@woldingham.surrey.sch.uk