Bethan

This may be a stupid question, but if I buy my daughters 16 & 18 a scooter - they don't have a licence yet - will I need to insure them and if so how much is this likely to be? Beth

My 16 year old has just walked out of school having endured a hateful year. She is not academic but used to be a cheerful outgoing popular girl. She is now tearful depressed and prone to tantrums. This could of course be adolescence but perhaps her psychological make up is not up to the rigours of french school. As a mother I could not bear to see her like this and so although I have tried to talk her into staying until June (not so long I know), she just could not stand one more day of being shouted at by unsympathetic teachers when she couldn't do the same work or the controls as her classmates. And isolated by said classmates for being a strange crying person. She did receive extra language help and as far as her directrice was concerned she had done everything she could for my daughter. I sat in her office yesterday and tried to salvage the situation with my daughter crying, and with the directrice telling her she was like a 6 year old girl and that she was not normal. This is hard for any parent to hear, but I do understand her point of view. I apologised and thanked her for the efforts she had gone to, but at the end of it my daughter said she was going to walk out. There was nothing I could do. I went to the employment office, and apparently french employment law is complicated for 16 - 18 year olds as they are minors. It will be difficult for her to find even waitressing work I was told. Apprenticships are a possibility. So - eventually - my question. Does anyone have any knowledge or information about getting a 16 year old into an apprenticeship? I am currently in 46, but could be moving shortly to the Toulouse area. Would it be an idea to get the ball rolling with an apprenticeship for her? Or is it possible for her to find work, however, menial? She is well presented and looks older than her 16 years, sensible and practical - in normal circumstances. Bethan

I didn't need a carte de sejour when I registered my 3 girls, I just filled out the registration forms. They may request a letter from the english school to state what they are currently doing and their level. My primary school helpfully translated this into french for me. You would need to go to your Mairie to find out which schools are their catchment area and you will normally be entitled to free travel to and from that school. My daughter is picked up at 8.20am and dropped to the door at 5pm. However the bus for my older daughter leaves from a village about 10 minutes drive away and we have to get her there for 7am when it leaves - or drive the 30 minute trip down the hill to her school for 8am. You will need to school insurance though, and to cover them for sporting activities, and I had to provide proof of innoculations including BCG. Hope this helps Beth

It would of course depend on the school and area. Some secondary schools in large towns are chaotic, but smaller ones in rural areas can be good. UK schools provide more learning support than the french do,, so your daughter would receive support should she need it. My daughters have moved from english schools to french and are struggling with the lack of support they receive from teachers and the system in general (secondary level). They are treated with exasperation generally here that they cannot understand what is going on. My youngest is fairing better at primary. I speak as a teacher of secondary school age in the UK, & the emphasis in UK schools is support of children with special needs/english as a 2nd language, so I should think your daughter would have no trouble adapting in year 7, as long as the school is well chosen. Good Luck Beth

Just some words of empathy with you. I moved here in May this year. My girls aged 9, 15 and 17 are also missing their english friends, not least because their french is so poor. The 15 year old in particular, as kids seem to avoid talking to her because I guess it's such hard work to have a conversation with her pigin french. She is also receiving extra french help but she feels progress is slow, although I can see the improvement. I know things will improve when she is able to express her vibrant funny personality more. One thing I have noticed is that we do things more as a family together - we talk more, and we discuss how we feel and are able to support each other. You could try setting aside a time in the evening, over dinner maybe, when each one of you (adults included) get a chance to say what went well with their day and what went not so well, so that others may give some words of encouragement or praise, or just acknowledge if someone's having a bad day. That way, you can pull closer together and the kids may realise that their parents are also having tough days, and that you all help each other. I just keep telling my girls how proud I am of them, that they will reap the rewards later, and that they will have friends just as good as in England, but that it takes a bit of time for the French to get to know them while they are learning. Anyway Good luck, if it's any consolation I also feel bad sometimes that I've done the wrong thing, but I know I'm right when the girls say that they wouldn't have wanted to stay in the UK, and they really want to make a go of it here, despite the difficulties now. I think we're closer as a family. Bethan

Hi Our 9 year old started after Easter hols. We told the school we were coming in March when we signed for the house and it wasn't a problem. We equipped her with the usual colouring pens, biros (different colours), exercise book, and a folder, and made it up as we needed it. It wasn't a problem. The main problem I found was that the school was not pro-active in telling us about holdiays or strike days - we had to find out a lot ourselves. You will have to get them registered at the Mairie, and depending on where you live you may want them to be picked up 'rammassage', and brought home. It's a free service. Our daughter is picked up at 8.20am and dropped home at the door at 5pm, by a woman who ferries all the neighbouring kids in an estate car. Some areas run a mini bus. It's good to get the kids in school asap, and yours are at the right age to make the transition. Where in the Limousin are you moving to? Good luck Bethan

I've just signed up for a french course for foreigners living in France, to help me become more fluent. It takes place in Figeac via video conferencing with about 6 other centres in the midi-pyrennes. It seems that mostly English people are taking this up. The course is free if you're signed on with the ANPE, which I did, although not claiming any money, and it is until January, when the 2nd stage starts, until June. I think that the fee is not large without signing up to the ANPE. The aim of the course is to better integrate foreigners living in France to french language and culture. It is quite intensive according to the co-ordinator with some work at home on the internet. IT is scheduled to run Tuesdays and Thursdays 3.30pm - 6.30pm at various centres. If anyone wants further information then you could contact [email protected] It starts on 7/10/03 Bethan