Jogra

My husband and I have lived in France for a few years and have renovated our property.We are thinking of selling, and buying two houses:one to live in and one to renovate. Once house number 2 is sold we would buy house number 3 and do the same, hopefully making enough each time to fund our living expenses until the next house is sold. We are wondering whether there would there be any advantages regarding Capital Gains Tax  etc in setting up as a business? we obviously intend to research the financial implications thoroughly and will seek legal advice but would appreciate advice from anyone doing a similar thing. Thanks  

It's hard to come to terms with the fact that the  reality is so different from the 'dream' -I really sympathise with your situation. I don't want my daughter to miss out on the fun parts of being young  either and I tell myself that although we will miss Kate terrribly if she goes back to England, at least the rest of her education will be  stimulating and will be relieved that she will have the time to take advantage of extra curricular activities. Not to mention the much missed DRAMA! And she can look forward to enjoying the best of France in the holidays! I've even almost convinced myself that this might all work out for the best!! Good Luck to you and your daughter!

I've posted messages before explaining my 16 year old daughter's experiences with the French system so won't bore people again. But it's obvious from the postings on this thread that  there are strong and varying opinions on the pros and cons of the French system. Notwithstanding the reasons for the different opinions, the main point is that the French system is making quite a few English teenagers living here very unhappy. I'm spending most of my time at the moment supervising Katy's studies for her GCSEs in June (she'll be returning to take them at her old school ) and although it's been lovely to see her enjoyment of the subjects and her sense that she's finally achieving something , it has also been sad to see her missing the social aspects of going to school. So I think that any opportunity to bring children together to work towards  examinations, can only be a good thing. It's a shame that many of us, having perhaps found out as much as possible about the French system before moving here, but not being able to actually experience it until our children are 'living' it, have unhappy teenagers as a result . But, if a school offering a fair range of GCSEs could be set up, this would seem to be an ideal solution. As a mother, I would of course want evidence of qualifications and experience, but would be very grateful to know that my teenager had a chance of  enjoying her education, whilst still able to enjoy the many benefits  of living here. Incidentally, there is an Open Day at the International Lycee at La Baule, near St Nazaire on Feb 5th. It's a state school so tuition is free;parents only have to pay the weekly Internat (boarding) fee-about 535 Euros per term I think.Pupils work towards the International Baccalaureat which is well received by British universities. The address is http://www.lycee-grand-air.net/UK/explo.html British pupils are very welcome by all accounts - the History/Geography and English lessons are  taught in English.We'll be there -in the hope that it might be a way of preventing splitting the family up in September! Would prefer to have a totally English curriculum but you can't have everything -unless Izz can get going soon!  

We had a Monday changeover last year, and have friends who have Mon and Tues changeovers-it doesn't seem to make any difference to the number of bookings. We change it according to  when the English schools' September term starts.  

We moved to the Vendee region of France last year -our 2 daughters, aged 12 and 14 started at the local private school (fees about 500 each per year) in September. From the start they have been given 1:1 French tuition for 4 hours per week, which has made a huge difference to their progress. However,they find the teaching style rather dull and very didactic. There is very little opportunity for group work or student participation; most lessons are in silence, and they have, on average, 4 tests per week. They will not be taught how to write an essay, certainly not an analytical one, until they go to Lycee, at 15 years old. Luckily, they are achieving high marks in Art, Music, PE and English which brings the famous 'moyen' or average(which seems to be by far the main means of measuring achievement here) to an acceptable standard. Under 10 is deemed to be 'failing'. They like the fact that they can work without being distracted by disruptive pupils but say that sometimes they would give anything to have some sort of distraction to break up the tedium of sitting and listening to teachers talk for 8 hours a day. The hours are 8.30am -5pm with Wednesday pm off, and they have 16 weeks holiday , plus Bank Holidays(which are often extended to 2 days)There are opportunities for extra curricular activitie but on nothing like the same scale as their school in England. Most extra activities such as instrumental lessons, Drama clubs etc are followed out of school. They stay at school for the 1 and a half hour lunch break, but this is optional. And they are served a 3 course lunch every day. (included in the fees).At first they hated the food, but now enjoy many of the meals. A bus (8 per month each) picks them up from, and drops them off outside our gate. On the whole, I would say that, for any child under 11 years old, picking up the language is not a problem. But I am very relieved that my daughters are fairly bright as, from what I gather, provision for less able children is not as good as in the UK. I am concerned about the important decisions my eldest daughter has to make next year regarding her future education. Not speaking French ourselves, it is going to be very difficult to advise her for the best. Luckily, we have made some very good English speaking friends( whose children have been through the system,) to help us, but it is very frustrating not to be able to understand letters, and booklets regarding choices, that the children bring home. Hope this is of use. It is obviously anecdotal and not a general view of French Education. Good Luck with your decision! Whatever you decide, if your children have your support and encouragement and, very importantly, each other with whom to share experiences, they will be fine! Best Wishes from Jo Osborn