ERASMUS+ Exchange with École Collège Lycée Saint François in Ville-la-Grand, France

From May 11th to May 17th eleven students from the classes 3AJ and 3BJ traveled to Ville-la-Grand, France. Our journey began with a ride on the night train and lasted a total of 19 hours. After around eleven hours, we stopped in Zurich where the students had four hours of free time to explore the city on their own. Afterwards we continued our journey to Annemasse, where we were warmly welcomed by the French teacher. We finally arrived at the hotel at 6 p. m.

On Tuesday we visited CERN, the world’s largest particle accelerator. Together with the French students, we formed teams and completed an exciting quiz. In the afternoon, we went to the French school, where we participated in another quiz: this time we focused on the topic of climate change.

We spent the entire Wednesday at the French school. Once again, we worked in groups, and each group was tasked with writing three English articles about similarities and differences in culture, language, and other areas. At the end of the day, the French students gave us a tour of their school and shared interesting insights into their daily school life.

On Thursday, we visited Geneva. We spent the morning at the Red Cross Museum and relaxed in the Botanical Garden during the afternoon. Later that evening, we enjoyed a small but cozy pizza party at the school.

Friday was our final day at the French school. A mini sports day was organized during which we played three rounds of dodgeball – France versus Austria. Of course, we won all three games – and now the teachers owe us ice cream! 😝 After a lunch at school, it was time to head back home.

In the name of all eleven students, I would like to sincerely thank Professor Zimmermann and Professor Dreisiebner for making this trip possible. A special thank-you also goes to Professor Kraus, who kindly stepped in for Professor Dreisiebner and accompanied us on this adventure. It was an exciting and fun-filled week. We are already looking forward to welcoming the French students next school year!

Elisa Hartinger, 3BJ