For five days, Lennen Bilingual School’s Grade 5 students exchanged their usual school environment for the open spaces of Beaumont-Saint-Cyr. From 21 to 25 September, the class stayed at the Lac de Saint-Cyr centre for a school trip combining outdoor activities, time in nature, and the experience of spending several days together away from Paris.
Situated beside the Lac de Saint-Cyr in Beaumont-Saint-Cyr, the centre welcomes school groups and provides accommodation alongside spaces and activities designed for school stays. (Archipel Vacances) For Lennen’s Grade 5 students, the week offered a varied programme that took them from the water to the archery range and into the surrounding natural environment.
A different rhythm for the school week
A residential school trip changes the familiar rhythm of the school day. At Saint-Cyr, the students’ programme unfolded across several days, giving them time to discover different activities while sharing the experience as a class.
The week began on Monday 21 September, with the students settling into the centre before taking part in their first activities. Over the course of the stay, the programme included both longer sessions and shorter activities, creating a varied schedule throughout the week.
Rather than remaining in one setting, the students moved between activities on land and water, making the surroundings of Saint-Cyr an important part of their time away.
Time to explore the natural environment
Not every part of the week was centred on sport. The programme also included a two-hour nature activity, allowing the students to spend dedicated time engaging with their surroundings.
Another recurring element of the stay was the “Minute Papillon” activity, which appeared in several forms throughout the programme, from shorter sessions to a half-day activity.
Together with time spent around the lake and the outdoor setting of the centre, these moments brought a different dimension to the week and complemented the more physically active parts of the programme.
From archery to kayaking
Sport and outdoor activity formed a significant part of the programme.
On Wednesday 23 September, the Grade 5 students took part in kayaking. With the centre located beside the Lac de Saint-Cyr, water-based activities are among the experiences available on site. (Archipel Vacances) The following day brought another change of setting and technique, with a two-hour archery session on Thursday 24 September.
These activities introduced different ways of engaging with the environment during the stay. Kayaking placed the students directly on the water, while archery offered an activity centred on a very different set of movements and techniques.
The centre’s wider school programme includes a range of sporting and outdoor activities, with kayaking and archery among those specifically offered to young groups. (Archipel Vacances)
Five days together
A residential trip is also shaped by everything that happens around the scheduled activities: arriving at a new place, following a different daily timetable and spending several consecutive days together as a class.
For Grade 5, the stay at Beaumont-Saint-Cyr brought all of these elements together over five days. Kayaking, archery, nature activities and the different sessions organised throughout the week created a programme distinctly different from an ordinary week at school.
As the students return to Paris, the trip becomes part of their final year of elementary school at Lennen: five days spent together, discovering a new environment beyond their usual classrooms.
