About four weeks ago, a 16-year-old French student, Thomas Fouqueray, left home and took two trains, a taxi and a boat, by himself, before arriving in England. Ever since, he has been staying with local families in Ross-on-Wye, to help to improve his English and gain unforgettable work experience.

Thomas lives in a village near Condé, the French town that Ross-on-Wye is twinned with. When he arrived, he first stayed with the Champness family.

While Thomas was staying there, he became very amused by the large amount of tea consumed by local people, particularly by his host-parent, Chris.

“English people drink all the time tea,” Thomas said. He explained that Chris would have her first cup of tea in the morning with her breakfast, and another once she arrived at work, then one with lunch, one when she arrived home, one with dinner and one more, finally, before bed.

For Thomas’ first work placement, he went to work with Chris at Ashfield Park Primary School, and helped children in Year 4; working as a teaching assistant.

Thomas said that there were several differences between French Schools and English Schools, the main one being that French pupils do not have to wear a uniform, but he liked how smart the children looked.

He added that French pupils do not have school houses, but at Ashfield Park, they have Scudamore, Mortimer, Cantilupe and Kyrle. They also don’t have Forest School lessons in France. “It was a great work experience,” Thomas commented.

He helped the children with their maths, and if they could not understand, he would guide them through the problems. He also taught the children about culture in France, and the importance of Bastille day on July 14th.

At break and lunch times, Thomas enjoyed playing with the children, and helping the children to write their end-of-year song and class performance.

Working at Ashfield Park has been one of the highlights of Thomas’ trip. He said: “Work at school was my best work experience! The people who work at school were really nice with me.” He added that the headteacher, Mr Mills, had also praised him for being helpful and nice with the children.

Last week, Thomas moved in with his second host family, Chris Bartrum and Jane Roberts, who are Town Councillors, or “famous in Ross,” as Thomas describes.

He is currently doing his second work experience placement with the Ross-based charity, EnviroAbility, at their shop on Brookend Street.

During his stay, Thomas feels as though his English has improved, and that he has learned a lot from his host families and the people he has met in the town.