Thank you to everyone who posted a reply to my enquiry and to contributing to an interesting, informative and lively discussion. I’d especially like to thank those who directly answered the question posed by my post. The range of opinions shows that no matter how much desk research is done prior to a move to a different country, you never really know what it will be like until you are there. It also seems to confirm my view that school experiences vary between children, parents, teachers, school and region. Maybe to some extent it’s a case of ‘luck’ as to the standard of teaching/education at the local school where one’s family settles. I guess this means that a good idea would be for us to decide on a smallish area (if not a town/village) to settle in and then research the schools in this area. This is pretty difficult for us as we have a particular set of criteria for a property and also a modest budget, so choice is something we don’t have too much of. Also I’m not sure how we would go about researching the quality of a French school whilst still in England (anyone provide any solutions?). I am very pleased to hear that there are expat families in France who have had ‘more positive experiences than negative experiences’ with the French education system. Also that their children have had a chance of undertaking extra-curricular activities with the school (something I thought didn’t happen in France). So I’m feeling more positive about the French school system but the discussion has made me realise how important it is for us to check out any school thoroughly, to engage as much as possible with the local community and to deal with any problems immediately. It has also made us realise that it won’t be plain sailing and there could well be some difficult school issues to tackle (forewarned is forearmed!). Again thank you all for your posts.
