Juliette taught at Wensum Lodge in 2020. She recalls her memories of working there, and how things changed after the COVID pandemic.
Teaching French
I worked at Wensum Lodge from January-August 2020. I found out about the position to teach French through a friend who was already working there as a French teacher.
I taught French for beginners. There was a structured 10-week programme to follow, and I could add my own ideas. I chose the exercises and videos, and all the support. At the end of the course, the students took ‘mock exams’ to see if they’d reached the level to continue to intermediate French, or if they needed to redo the beginners’ class.
I was teaching in Cromer as well, so it was once a week there and once a week at Wensum Lodge. The course was £90 for 10 two-hour sessions. That’s quite cheap for learning a language, and as it was a small group there were lots of opportunities for the students to talk French, not just listen to it. So, it was good value for the quality we delivered.
There were only 5-10 people in the classes, not really enough. Most of them were over 50, and many wanted to refresh the French they’d learned at school. Some wanted to learn because they had a house in France, or were going on holiday there. They were very friendly and motivated, and they definitely enjoyed having an actual French person teaching them!
Learning support
Wensum Lodge didn’t offer me many hours of French teaching to start with, and said they were looking for learning support assistants, so I did that as well. I helped the teachers for maths, pottery, living positively, that sort of thing. It was the first time I’d done anything like that; it was cool! There were up to 20 people in each class. I supported them with writing, reading texts, understanding exam questions and working through exercises.
The place
Wensum Lodge was different to other places I’d taught at. The management was more relaxed, and there was no pressure. As teachers, we had a lot of freedom to introduce topics and choose how we wanted to deliver classes. I really enjoyed being able to bring my own experience and knowledge.
I remember the building was quite old, and I really liked its shape. I always felt safe going there, even though it was a bit outside of the city centre. There was a nice outside area, where I used to meet my friend Victor, another French teacher, and bump into other people. Inside it was very clean and refurbished, and it was a comfortable place to work in. I had everything I needed, and everything was really modern. There was also a space for doing pottery classes, with a kiln, and other art classes. It was really good. I took a pottery course there. I made a big vase; it wasn’t amazing, but I still have it in my flat!
The impact of COVID
I started at Wensum Lodge in January 2020, but in March we had to stop teaching onsite because of the COVID pandemic. We started doing lessons online, but not everyone was used to Zoom, MS Teams, that sort of thing. Wensum Lodge wasn’t prepared for teaching online, and it was the first time I’d had to teach a group that way. So, we all had to learn new IT skills from scratch in a very short time. I remember everyone just wanted things to be as ‘normal’ as possible, even though they weren’t. There was a lot of stress to begin with; a lot of students were a bit lost and many stopped following the classes. With time and experience things got better, though. I learned how to separate the sessions, to allow them to work together.
We also had to learn Moodle, the online learning platform Wensum Lodge chose to use, which was even harder than Teams! I still use Teams, even though I’ve stopped teaching, so it was good to have learned it at the time.
Wensum Lodge’s closure
I was sad when I heard that Wensum Lodge was closing, because I had good memories there. I found the place really cute, and it was cheap to do activities. It was a good place for meeting people, and the building is very beautiful, so it’s nice to preserve the architecture. I find it sad that they didn’t put more money in for conservation and for the history of the place.
When we were told we had to stop working on site because of the pandemic, I remember a teacher – a pottery teacher, I think – crying at the building entrance. She said that even if we come back here one day, nothing will be the same anymore. And she was very sad to leave. She was the last person I talked to at Wensum Lodge. And it’s true that everything changed.
That’s the last memory I have of the place. I also left behind some pottery I’d made, and I’ll never get it back. That’s quite a sad memory.
Juliette Triquet (b. 1993) talking to WISEArchive on January 11th 2025 in Norwich. © 2025 WISEArchive. All Rights Reserved.
