Fifty-one children from a school south of Paris travelled to Northside Primary School last week to meet their English pen pals in person for the first time. They shared their experience with Leïla Davaud

Rows of children in a school hall. — French children visit Northside Primary School – (Credit – Leïla Davaud)

After months of letter-writing, dictionary checks, and bilingual introductions, the coach from Georges Dortet Primary School in Fontenay-aux-Roses finally pulled up outside Northside Primary in North Finchley.

The pupils had made the overnight journey via the Channel Tunnel, with stops in Oxford and at the Warner Bros Studio Tour along the way. But Wednesday was the highlight: a full school day spent alongside the Year Five and Six pupils they had been corresponding with since autumn.

For nine-year-old Zoe, a Year Five pupil at Northside, the experience was both exciting and challenging. “Writing the letters was hard but thankfully, the teachers helped,” she said. “I was so excited to meet Charline, my pen pal. I’ve been to France on holiday and I really want to go back, though French is very difficult!”

Her classmate Olivia, 10, agreed: “I would definitely do it again. It was fun. I want to see their school in France someday.”

The day began with a whole-school assembly that quickly turned into a celebration of music. Northside’s choir performed Stargazing, while students from Durham University impressed with a lively samba percussion piece. The assembly concluded with pupils from both countries standing side by side to sing John Lennon’s Imagine.

“That really was a pull at the heartstrings,” said Lara Goldhill, who organised the visit at Northside alongside Mickael Delande, director of Georges Dortet. The two have kept in touch since Delande visited England a decade ago as a teacher. “This reunion has been a long time coming,” said Lara. “Hopefully it won’t be another ten years before we do it again,” Mickael added.

Throughout the day, the French visitors joined lessons, built Eiffel Tower models from spaghetti, made friendship bracelets, and played board games and Lego together. At lunchtime, they were treated to what the school cheerfully described as “a very British lunch”: fish and chips.

For many of the French pupils, it was their first experience of an English school. Wyatt, 11, who has read all seven Harry Potter books in French, said he was “happy to finally see an English school. It is way better than I imagined but not as good as Hogwarts.” One thing annoyed him though: “We experienced weather from all four seasons in half a day, it’s weird!”

His classmate Sophie, 10, was intrigued by the rules: “Schools are different here, they wear uniforms and the year groups don’t mix during the day. I don’t like the uniforms, I prefer my clothes,” she added with a laugh, “but I like the school.”

For many of the children, it was their first time meeting someone their own age from another country.

By the time the coach departed that afternoon, gifts had been exchanged, photographs taken, and new friendships formed. A bon voyage, indeed!

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