Abbey Road High School French Immersion Homestay Program in Saint-Laurent-du-Var

This program is one that I will cherish forever. I made so many new friends and memories that will be with me forever. Exploring Nice along with such supportive people truly challenged me in the best way possible. My language definitely improved and I grew so much from being by myself overseas for the first time. This experience is definitely more of a fun adventure and was very flexible in terms of having free time around the city! I would say the only cons are that I didn’t get 100% full immersion with French because the staff and students primarily spoke English to the students, but when interacting with other French locals and during the classes we were able to speak French with each other. Also keep in mind there is no AC in the residence and the wifi is not super fast either. All in all, it was so amazing and I would highly recommend!

I met a lot of really amazing people and had a lot of fun. The staff was also really amazing and helpful. Daily classes didn’t really feel like a chore, mostly because I loved my teacher, Hannah, so much. The weekend trips were also really fun. I particularly enjoyed going to Èze. I also really liked going to the island in the last week here. It was really beautiful and I had a great time there with my friends. Additionally, the area that we stayed in was really convenient and also very beautiful.

In addition to substantially improving his French, my son made friendships and memories on this programme that will last forever. It was no small thing to send him off mid-pandemic as the youngest participant by far, and the only boy in this year's group. As it turned out, he had a wonderful time, was incredibly well looked after, and loved every minute of his time in St. Laurent du Var. The mix of activities and language immersion was fantastic and the homestay element really allowed him to feel what it is like to live in France. Abbey Road staff kept us updated at all times, so we knew our son was happy and never worried about his welfare. We’re really grateful and recommend the programme without hesitation.

The program was incredible. St Laurent du Var is very beautiful and has many places close by to visit and explore.
My host was just amazing, so sweet and caring and we have kept in touch since my return. I made great new friends on the trip from all over and we still write each other too. My French improved a lot as we spoke pretty much only French the entire trip.my we did a lot of exploring, it is one of the prettiest parts of France and I really feel like I got a good flavor of what French life is like. The daily activities were so fun - including cheese tasting, kayaking, snorkeling, visiting museums, train rides to special beaches and a karaoke night. The whole program was extremely well organized, I felt very safe the entire trip. I would love the opportunity to do more :)

I had a wonderful experience at Abbey Road’s St Laurent Homestay Program. Even though I was only there for three weeks, I learned so much about the culture, language, and lives of Laurentines! The classes were super helpful to learn the ins and outs of the language, and a lot more about the vocabulary that one could use in everyday conversation. My experience with my host family was amazing, Cathy and Herve were the sweetest people I have met in a long time, and they always made sure that we felt at home with them, helping to acclimate to the new schedule and lifestyle in France. I would recommend anyone to stay with them, and I can faire tes that any other kid that will stay with them will have the same enthusiasm as I do. I will continue to stay in contact with them, because I hope to maintain the close relationship I have built with them over the past few weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here in St Laurent!!

I loved the fact that the group was small and that allowed for more growth and was a better social scene. I loved all the variety of different activities such as snorkeling and shopping and visiting museums and the electives. I wish there were a couple more activities and maybe a little more free time of long mounts of time where we could just head to the beach for a day or maybe go out for lunch or something. I thought my host family was so amazing and I thought it worked out perfectly. The host family living situations were perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing about them. I had an amazing experience and I thought the teachers and all the adults were just absolutely amazing and super kind and understanding. I am very sad to leave, but I know I made the best of my trip.

I spent three weeks in St-Laurent-du-Var with Abbey Road programs this summer, and it was absolutely amazing. I made lifelong friends and memories that I’m never going to lose. I’d highly recommend the home stay program for any student looking to really immerse and learn the language, as my host mom helped me a lot with my accent and learning how to express thoughts and feelings. The food was wonderful and the classes were beneficial and fun (shout out to Sarah and Camille for being the BEST teachers). There were a few small things that the program could have done better, for example communication between staff members, host families and students. I also would have appreciated knowing the schedule for the week a few days before or having a digital version of the schedule. Aside from those things, however, this has been an incredible experience.

I had a fabulous summer in St. Laurent, France. I stayed with 3 other American girls in a French home. My host family was really great. They were very welcoming. My host mom was good about asking us about foods that we wanted to eat. She also served us traditional french foods that we sometimes liked (lol!). She did send us a packed lunch but I do admit that we often grabbed a bite at the local cafes, which was a lot of fun.
We had language class most mornings but had lots of time after that to do other things - explore, go shopping etc. I also took a gym class (totally optional) which was fun. Our trainer had us doing all sorts of exercises - and I am not the exercising type! Other kids chose to do other activities.
On weekends we went on lots of excursions to other places in France and we also crossed into Italy for a day. I made so many good friends. This was my first time overseas and I felt safe and supported the entire time.
I didn't actually end up spending much money while I was there, which made my parents happy. Everything is really provided by the program. I spent a small amount on pastries, coffee etc and a bit on gifts. But I did not have to worry about money at all for the day to day type things.
I really have no complaints at all. The home stay worked well for me - I really wanted to meet a French family and take in the culture. It worked out perfectly.