English attack!

Here they are! This time, it’s not the Romans who are invading us, but the English! A group of pupils aged around fourteen arrived in France a few days ago from Bury secondary school, and happily, their purpose is peaceful!

On Wednesday 8th June, a visit to the Mandet Museum in Riom was organized by the DNL pupils in seconde to entertain these English visitors and to make them discover French art and our wonderful cultural heritage. In small groups, the visitors were shown around the Museum using different themes such as war, love, or mythology.

In the entrance hall of the Museum, the pupils were already excited and looking forward to learning more. We, the journalists from Boost!, followed one of these groups and we took the opportunity to interview the pupils:

Emma: Hello! We are writing an article about your visit in this museum on a blog called Boost! Can we ask you some questions?

Pupil: Yes!

Emma: So, what is your favorite artwork in the museum?

Pupil: Well, I definitely love the large plate with Poseidon, Cupid and his arrows, over there. It is really beautiful!

Violette: Which presentation did you enjoy the most?

Pupil: I think my favorite project is the arrow theme (visit by Gaëlle and Sixtine), but sometimes it was a little slow and boring!

Justine: And does it give you a particular image of France?

Pupil: Yes, a positive one!

After this interview, we thanked the pupils for their testimony and went back to the entrance hall of the museum where Heloïse, Camille and Paul held a refreshment stand, with lemonade and home-made cookies. They explained to us their project: they had created cards using photos of some of the famous artworks of the Museum and changed their meaning by doing photomontages. They sold these cards to the pupils as a souvenir of their visit. But Heloïse, Camille and Paul also made the English create their own artworks by making a drawing of an existing one on a paper sheet and changing its meaning. At the end of the visit, the best drawing was elected and the winner congratulated.

A group of English girls was going down the stairs; as we hadn’t questioned them yet, we went towards them:

Emma: So, which presentation did you like the most?

Pupil: I think my favorite is the treasure hunt (by Mathieu and Maxime). It was so funny and I loved looking for clues in the artworks!

Justine: And, what was your favorite painting?

Pupil: I loved ‘The Oyster Eater’! It is hilarious!

Violette: Thanks for your answers and enjoy the rest of your visit!

The English pupils went to the refreshment stand. Some of them even bought some cards.

After that, we went upstairs and found a third group of English pupils, who were drawing their own artwork on their paper sheets:

Justine: Hello! We hold a blog called Boost! about arts and culture. Can we ask you some questions about your experience?

Pupils: Yes!

Justine: First of all, which presentation did you like the most?

English girl: I loved the mythology project (by Dorian) because I found it very interesting!

Violette: And what about you?

English boy: Well, I don’t agree with her! I think the best project was the bows and arrows hidden in the artworks!

Emma: And, if you were inside a painting, which one would it be?

English girl: I really enjoyed the painting that Arthur showed us. It represented a little boy who was dressed like a girl, but he was so cute!

Justine: Thank you for answering our questions!

All the groups of pupils went back to the hall and the most beautiful drawing was elected. The DNL pupils of Sainte-Marie looked very proud and satisfied because the English pupils seemed very enthusiastic and, moreover, they said they had learnt many things about France and the arts.

After that, all the pupils, French and English, got together in the Museum’s courtyard and we took a group photo. Finally, these two hours were very enriching and interesting for everyone and the English pupils will obviously remember their visit for a long time!

Article by Emma GREIVELDINGER