McJules

We have been living here just over a year & have managed to find a very 'nice French school for our daughter & son, now aged 6 & 7.  It is a Waldorf Steiner school & from one term's experience I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Our children spent their first 6 months in France at a traditional school, Maternelle & primaire. The maternelle was fine; though a bit babyish for a child transferring from Year 1 in English primary, the teachers were kind, caring & interested, & our daughter was able to concentrate on improving her French rather than academic work. Our son was in CP (1st year at Primaire) where the attitude was completely different. The teacher there was rude, inflexible & overburdened by her large class (half CP & half the year above). As some of the above posts describe, the system is inflexible & the children are expected to sit at their desks working quietly for much of the day....our son did pick up French quite quickly & was able to converse easily with friends, neighbours etc but lost all confidence through his teacher's attitude towards him & others.  We moved to a different area for the Steiner school in time for the September term last year - our children have never been happier.  The philosophy of the schools is to use education to bring out what the children have to offer, not to force them to learn the same old stuff .  It is a little daunting to move your children from the rat race (they were previously at private schools in London) to a place where reading & writing are not the be all & end all, and they spend most of their day 'playing', ie music, languages, nature discovery, painting, crafts.  They do no tests or exams, but at age 11 (unfortunately there's no steiner college near here) they move smoothly on to the local college & do really well.  The teachers are dedicated, interested and kind but appear to be able to keep good discipline through respect.  Each Steiner school, of course, is different, & I can only speak for ours but they are all based on the same aims & beliefs. For info on the Steiner method & schools, their website is www.steiner-waldorf.org.  They are not profit making & are run by the parents & teachers, usually with no government assistance.  It may be of interest to some of you who are looking for an alternative to the 'traditional' French school.

Thanks Mpprh, excellent link, & thanks very much to everyone else for all your tips & support. We've had a few probs getting advice in English (as our French is still so limited) & having trouble finding an English speaking consultant. Talking of which, any tips you have on the quickest way to learn French would be much appreciated

We have just bought a vineyard in South West France.....does anyone have any tips for us on running it?? We have never had any involvement in the industry before but feel sure that it can't be that difficult. What should we be doing with our vines at this time of year? Can anyone give us any tips on potential pitfalls??