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Hi again Miki, Thanks for replying so promptly and at such length.     Please may I quote you and comment on one thing in particular?  I don't know how to work the 'insert' but I would like to comment on your 3rd para about the school that my girls attend being 'local enough for the girls to go'.  There was 'homework' involved here - as the school we chose is nearly 1 hours drive away from our house.  I drive 2 hours every morning and then again in the evening!!  Don't know about long hours for children - its quite demanding on me too!!   Your right I never looked further than Lycee/Uni - not here or in UK. Not yet!  Do you think that people should?  If so, how/what????   Also you do have to pass both the Brevet and achieve above the moyen to pass into Lycee (at my daughters school).  There was one French boy who failed to obtain one of these, I forget which, but he has had to stay behind.  She was not fluent.  Lucky and hardworking maybe.  Have to go on the schoolrun now.........  PS. We are always short of money!

Hi Katie, I have to say again, even apologise to SB, that I did not mean to be either rude or opinionated.  Not at all.  Far from it.  I am still trying to explain myself - obviously not very clearly.  Perhaps this might put it more into context :  I looked long and hard until I found the right person to give extra French lessons to my girls. These people are not so easy to find.  I pay good money for my kids to learn French grammar.  I want to.  So when I read someone saying that it, the grammar is 'useless' I can't understand it at all.  That is all. It's the only thing that I did not agree with in what SB was saying.  Sorry!!    

Hi Miki, Which decisions do you mean exactly? I was lucky.  I took about 3 years making the decision to move.  Three years ago we moved from Africa, where my girls had had all their educatation, back to UK. We had spent all our holidays in France - 2 months every year at our house which we bought here in the late 80's.  So the girls knew the area  here and the house from a very early age.  We then moved from Africa to UK 3 yrs ago and the girls went to an all-girls private school where they did not know the area etc. etc.   Having bought a small cottage in Dorset we reached the dilema of having to choose either a) to stay in it or b) sell our house in France to afford something bigger in UK.  It was the girls who suggested that we move here.  I was nervous about it. My husband and the girls were not.  I had just sussed out the English system too!!!!  Luckily I had French friends to help me. And I leant on them and found out a huge ammount. We looked not only into college but lycee too.  We decided we wanted a school which had both.  So the girls would not be 'separated' whilst one was still in college.  We also looked at things like where the girls could continue with their music studies (violin, guitar and piano)  This did not actually work out - one reason was lack of time.  One particular friend even came with me to meet the Head Master. We looked at local schools in the Dordogne but jointly (myself and the girls) decided that they were not quite what we wanted and the girls wanted to go a school in the Charente where they would in fact be the only English pupils.  That, one year later, is still the case.  The girls are happy there and could not wait to start. They were happy even, in UK, taking extra French lessons before we moved here!!   As I said on an earlier post, after just 2 terms my eldest passed her Brevet and also obtained above the moyen to go ahead to Lycee.  (The school had already agreed that they would let her pass on anyway - but she managed to do it off her own bat !)  I also found by talking to the girls and finding out what they would like in France that they could not have in UK also helped.  I bought them each their own puppy in UK (just with time enough to comply with all the DEFRA rules - beware anyone who wants to do this and remember to work out the time scale v carefully).  The idea was that they could not have had them in UK as the cottage was too small and that also when they arrived here the puppies would destract them from anything 'nasty' at school. I had warned the girls that there would be tears and frustration etc. etc. but am surprised myself how little!!   They also wanted horses.  So we had the fun of buying them here for them and they both have them as a hobby which they adore - and have been able to do some showjumping competitions.  BUT it's not all rosy.   My husband left to work abroad just 2 wks after we moved in here so it's just been us girls!!  The first term was the worst - Latin to French dictionaries, French to Spanish, ect. etc. But we all remained positive.  We also knew that if it did'nt work out  I would take the girls back. (We decided jointly not to sell our cottage in UK for 1 yr until we were quite sure of our decision).   But they don't want to go back :  AT ALL.    They tell ME not to worry!!  I guess the end of the story is that our house in UK is now up for sale!! I don't know if that does answer your question or not!!  Its really difficult trying to condence so much into so little.  I hope that its helpful to others too.

Morning!   Sorry, I did not mean to be unhelpful BUT I really STILL  can't understand how anyone can berate their children spending time in a French school learning French grammar!  Whichever way I look at it - this is NOT a waste of time!!   I do agree with you that excellent threads like this are meant to be and are indeed extremely helpful to us all (which is why I or anyone else are here reading them) but I do think that we should also be allowed to question anything we read if we don't agree with it.  I genuinely would like to know what SB has against the grammar!  I do understand and agree with whats been said about French teachers etc. but also agree that simelar problems also exist elsewhere.  In fact I have to go to my eldest daughters equivalent of Parents/Teachers next Wednesday afternoon and shall have to face all of them (the teachers) by myself as my husband is away - and I  am dreading it!!  Anyone else ever feel like that????

Good afternoon Saligobay, Just read your blurb and I wonder what on earth made you choose to come and live in France with your family??  Surely, you looked into the schooling system in detail before you came here?  You have to - in order to be fair to your kids.  Otherwise you are ALL in for a great shock and how unprepared is that????  I think that is why you are depressed but I find it depressing and extremely negative that you feel  all the bad things prepare children for 'life in France' .  Do you not enjoy yourself?  If you don't you can't expect your children to - it all rubs off! I agree that the hours are long for the children.  My own daughters (13 and 15) leave home at 7am in the morning and get home between 6pm and 6.30pm (excepting Wednesdays - but on those afternoons they have private French coaching!!).  But - how can we complain about it - or indeed the fact that they have to learn 'useless things like French Grammar'.  I never heard such nonsence for a long time.  Why go to school or live in France if you don't want to (or for your children to) learn the language - correctly???     

Does anyone have a spare one?  My daughter is desperate for one!!  (Dept 24)

Good afternoon!!   We are planning to build stables and a carriere for our girls horses.  We live on the Charente/Dordogne border.  Does anyone know someone who knows about this sort of thing ie. has had stables and a carriere built/or has done the work themselves??   Pleased to hear from you.........any advice.

Hi again Wen,   You were really very unlucky.  I have to say to you and everyone else that unless you have the full co-operation of the school (even if they can't offer any aide for French) : give them a wide berth.  It will only go from bad to worse.  In our case, after we had our first meeting with the new Head our minds were fully made up.  Having gone in to see him still sitting on the fence we felt  a huge relief coming out of the school.  The stress of making a decision had gone.  He took about 1 hour talking to us and about 1 hr showing the girls around the school and where they would put backpacks etc. the following term. We still have nothing for admiration for him.  The girls were keen to start the following term (in Jan.) and approached it with a very positive attitude.  I hope that could be the case for all children starting school in France  -  it's vital ! !

Hi Wen,   Sorry about your experience BUT I have to say that although there are many Brits here in the Dordogne - the college/lycee where my girls are at school did not provide ANY help at all for them when they started.(Probably as they were the only Brits. attending).  -   Unlike many others around here.  It also took us rather a long time to find someone to teach them French independently.  However, having said that we chose the school because it was friendly and we liked the approach of the Head Master.  It got my eldest daughter into Lycee in just two terms!!  PS which is dept. 66????

Hi Wen,   Sorry about your experience BUT I have to say that although there are many Brits here in the Dordogne - the college/lycee where my girls are at school did not provide ANY help at all for them when they started.  Unlike many others around here.  It also took us rather a long time to find someone to teach them French independently.  However, having said that we chose the school because it was friendly and we liked the approach of the Head Master.  It got my eldest daughter into Lycee in just two terms!!  PS which is dept. 66????

Hi Alison,   My first thing to say to you is to stop worrying and be positive about your move with your daughter!  I moved here (to the Dordogne) last December with my daughters then aged 12 and 14.  With some trepidation I might add!  They came from an all-girls Public School in Dorset to a mixed school in the middle of the city of Angouleme.  Quite a change in itself - quite apart from the fact they were the only English children in the whole school.  I think what you should do is something that worked for us.  That is to visit the school and speak to the Head and let your daughter choose which school she is happy with.  There is a large choice and not only to decide on the College but also on the Lycee that she will attend.  Also look into the choice of subjects available.  Consider whether she is doing Spanish, for instance, at her school in UK.  Most of all talk to her and make sure that she also wants to move.  Don't hesitate if you want to know any more of the probs. we encountered along the way and how we coped with them.  Or if your interested in the highs!!  Best of luck, R.