Going to France helped me to get an A

Lauren Corbet, who got an A in Higher Level French in this year's Leaving Cert, improved her language skills by making two trips to France.

As a student at Stratford College in Dublin, Lauren was keen to brush up on her spoken French.

'Towards the end of fourth year, our Transition Year Programme was winding down. Together with a group of friends I decided that it would be great to go to France.

'We went to Nice and stayed with a retired man who also had two Swedish boys staying. We went to classes in the morning. It was a real opportunity to immerse ourselves in the language.'

Lauren organised her second trip in fifth year with Steinstudyabroad.ie and spent two weeks in Biarritz, staying with a family, learning French and doing surfing classes.

'It was great fun and I think it helped me to learn the language properly,' says Lauren, who is now just beginning a degree in French and Film Studies at Trinity College.

Irish Independent