Twinning visit
Shelford to Verneuil-en-Halatte
25th – 28th May 2024

Dear Members and Friends,

We are really looking forward to our next group exchange visit to Verneuil May 25th – May 28th 2024 – especially as we will be celebrating the 36th anniversary of the signing of the Twinning Charter between Verneuil-en-Halatte and the Shelfords. These dates are at the beginning of the school half-term holiday. The format will be similar to previous family visits, and is open to single adults, couples, children and family groups. All we ask is that primary aged children are accompanied by a parent, grandparent or approved guardian.

A Typical Programme:
Day 1: One day’s travel to Verneuil by coach and ferry: this is taken gently, lasting around 8 hours door-to-door, in a luxury coach with a toilet. We aim to leave by 9.00am arriving early evening in Verneuil – approx. 5.30pm. Although the journey is long, we have plenty of breaks and the children usually find it rather exciting!
Day 2: The children (11 and under) will be spending the morning in the school which many of their French friends attend. Seeing life in a French school is a unique and stimulating experience for our children. The adults will have a short visit to a place of local interest and an opportunity to do some shopping. There will be a half day outing in the afternoon for the entire group.
Day 3: This day will be spent with host families. We find that families will often get together with other families and their guests to spend the day together. There will be lots of opportunity to test your French!! However, many hosts will be able to converse in English, although maybe not fluently. In the evening there will be a party for all hosts and guests … part of the hospitality of the Verneuil-en-Halatte twinning association.
Day 4: We will leave Verneuil to return to Shelford arriving at around 8pm.

The various events give us opportunities to meet up frequently with each other and with the French group’s organisers, who all speak French. In addition, we are all staying in and around the village, within easy reach of each other. Our French friends have always been so welcoming and kind to us in the past and those from the Shelfords who have participated in these exchange visits have many positive stories to tell (ref: the stories under the label ‘Recent Visits‘ on our website).

CHILDREN
Wherever possible, children (with their parent(s) or guardian(s)) stay in families with children of similar age and interests, although it may not always be possible to accommodate large families together. They become part of the family, joining in family activities and often a local outing for which many host families get together. Most of the host families have been involved in twinning for many years and are well-known to the organisers both in France and here in England.

If older children are not accompanied by their parent(s)/guardian(s), please rest assured that adults from the Twinning Association who are accompanying the group have the relevant CRB checks in place and have up-to-date safeguarding training.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
You will require a passport and an up-to-date GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card).  This is free of charge and is applied for online. If your EHIC card is still in date, you may continue to use that. If you need to get one of either of these for yourself or your child be sure to apply in good time. Before leaving, you will also need to make sure you have your own travel insurance.

THE COST
The cost per adult is £115* and  the cost per child (current Y7 or under) is £45**. The cost includes travel, and some administrative costs. All the entertainment, meals and activities are provided free of charge as hospitality by the host Twinning Associations and the host families.

* All travelling adults are expected to become members of the Twinning Association if they are not members already (£10 single membership /£15 family membership) otherwise we may fall foul of legislation which would deem us to be acting as a travel agent and, therefore, illegally. The only other expenses would be a small gift for the host family, a little pocket money and your travel insurance for the four days.

** This year, we are able to offer this competitive price to the children thanks to the very generous support of Great Shelford Parish Council.

These visits rely on exchanged hospitality and many long-term relationships have been built up that way. You and your children are likely to benefit most from this visit if you can host a French visitor during the return visit in the summer (6th –9th July 2024). However, this is not a requirement, and an inability to host should never prevent you participating in the visit to France.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
If you are interested in joining us on our visit to Verneuil-en-Halatte in 2024, please use the contavt form below.

There will be a meeting with parents before departure.

PLEASE NOTE: We need to know SOON who wouild like to go so that our French counterparts can begin to arrange suitable accommadtion.
The closing date for replies/bookings is Friday 5th April 2024.

VISIT TO VERNEUIL 25th May – 28th May 2024
If you are interested, please complete the registration form for the visit (click on the link).
You will also need to send a £30 deposit per person by Friday April 5th 2024 to Sarah Haddow, 24 Mingle Lane, Stapleford, CB22 5SY.