Rumpole

I am sorry that so many of the parents who have written are disappointed with French schools. Having been to English school in the fifties and early sixties I find that French schools are very similar. My daughter who went to school in California had a very different experience not a positive one. Our Grandson went to school in California before he came here 18 months ago. His experience there was less than positive too. They are expected to write their names before they enter Kindergarten, which is not a compulsory year, but most children go to school then. He was also expected to have other skills that are taught in a Pre-school which is free for the poor children, but he fell through the cracks his mother earned too much for him to go and not enough to pay for private Pre-school so he went to school at a distinct disadvantage to the other children in his low-income area school.Since coming here at 7 years old he has blossomed. He was disruptive and failing to learn anything. Their answer was to suspend him from school for every infraction. It doesn't take long for a child who is struggling in school to realise that he can go home if he misbehaves. Here his teacher yelled at him. It only took a few times before he stopped misbehaving. He is dyslexic and disgraphic which we had long suspected and his teachers in America weren't particularly interested in that at least not enough to have him tested. Not here we spoke with his teacher and he was tested and now is doing well the school gives him extra reading lessons and he goes to the Orthophonist twice a week. Learning cursive writing first has been a big help to him he still struggles with capital letters, but can write an understandable hand now. Sending him to a high discipline school was the best thing that happened to him. It seems to me that many pupils in English and American schools would benefit from more discipline and less creativity. Your children at 4 and 6 will do fine they will soon pick up the language although a bit of basic French before they come would be a help.

If you are moving in June you will have time to check out the school before they break up in July. I do not know anything about the schools in your area, but our grandson came from California and I enrolled him in the Private school in our village. Only because I wasn't sure where the public one was and we knew kids who went to the private one. The public school seems just as good. He settled in straight away and frankly his behaviour improved incredibly. There were other English speakers in the class and they helped him enormously. Might I suggest that you enrol your children before the school breaks up as then they will have met other children and will have some friends to play with during the hols. It is daunting to have eight weeks off school and no-one you know to play with.

My husband, and I moved to France two years ago from California. I have a British passport, he did not need a visa, BUT he did have to apply for a Titre de Sejour within eight days of arriving. We went to the Mairie and they filled in the forms for us. He had a letter from the Prefecture for an interview but through my mistakenly thinking it was a receipt because I didn't bother reading it properly it was some months before we went back to the Mairie to see why it was taking so long. They phoned the Prefecture for me and they waived the interview and gave him his Titre de Sejour which is valid for five years. When our Grandson came to live with us we had to have the Guardianship papers translated into French but they issued the him a Titre de Sejour as well. You do need insurance but your husband should check if he is entitled to an E101. Good luck.

Hi, We are planning to move to France in a couple of years when my husband retires at 55. He will get his pension from California and we understand we still have to pay US taxes. As an American is obliged to pay US taxes wherever they live. How does your husband overcome that problem, being as he works for an American firm? We don't want to pay French and American taxes, one lot is bad enough. Kris

Hi, We are planning to move to France in a couple of years when my husband retires at 55. He will get his pension from California and we understand we still have to pay US taxes. As an American is obliged to pay US taxes wherever they live. How does your husband overcome that problem, being as he works for an American firm? We don't want to pay French and American taxes, one lot is bad enough. Kris

If the Cafe Cloche is open we may see you there.Assuming I can book our flight for the end of September. Kris

Not appealing to men of a certain age probably has something to do with their feelings of inadequacy. Aznavour is still appealing at 80 and they assume they won't be. Which is more than likely true. Same reason women don't like half the nyphets strutting about. We can't match up. I always think of "Raindrops keep falling on my head" as a Sacha Distel song but in the US they have another singer and it doesn't sound right to me.