Lucinda

You're very welcome [:D] If you want to know anything about the system or my kids experiences then just ask!! It's good to share [:)]

[quote user="pale pink specs"]Hi Lucinda... that's fantastic!  thanks - it's really good to hear all sides!  What age were your children when they moved?  (sorry I'm assuming they're not French which is a big assumption!)[/quote] Yes they are English and they were 10 and 5 when we came here - they are now 22 and 17 - oh god I feel old!!![;-)]

Yes Panda but my two went to college in our local village with 100 other pupils!!! VERY small but had the advantage of small classes. We are quite a way from Bergerac so my two have weekly boarded. Daughter goes in on Monday morning and is picked up Friday evening. Son did that too and it was great preparation for having to move to Toulouse to do Classes Prepas where he has stayed for Ecole Veterinaire. I cannot fault the system here but the kids need to have the motivation and a lot of that comes from us parents. My two were 10 and 5 when they came here and I invested a great deal of time in sitting with them both and getting involved with their work. Once they went to College I felt it was easier to take a back seat because by then they wanted to suceed. Once to Lycee their fate rests in their own hands. I still support but only when asked - only last week I had to correct a dissertation on the effect of antibiotics and the sun which son had to write in English - his grammar lacks a little after 12 years here!!![:D]

Can I just add to this since we seem to be talking private versus state schools here? Both my children went to our local college and then on to Lycee in Bergerac. My son went on to do Classes Prepas and took the entrance exams for Ecole Veterinaire where he is now in his 2nd year. My daughter is still at Lycee in Terminale and plans to do Pharmacie. Sorry but they wouldn't have done any better had I sent them to private school. My two are motivated and want to learn. It's really not about the school, it's about the student. If they want to learn then they will learn regardless!!   That's my two penneth!!   

University students register with their own mutuelle and, depending on circumstances, either pay around 190 euros per year or get free cover. The free cover is applicable to students who are in receipt of a bourse for their education. They stay with their mutuelle until the end of their education. My son is with LMDE who are one of the two mutuelles who do this cover. Lucy 

Will your daughter be studying here in France? That is, doing a year in a French uni? Or is she to be working? If she's going to a French university for the year then the uni of choice will be able to help with accomodation - well not them exactly but the CROUS who run student appartments. Otherwise, look at the university in the city she wants to be - many have bulletin boards for flat shares etc. Lucinda

There are a great number of couples now choosing to have their wedding in France - British, Irish, Americans to name a few - but in order to not have to get involved in the paperwork here they are tending to have a civil ceremony in their own country (quietly) and then come here to celebrate their wedding with family and friends. There are plenty of Chateaux catering for this and several wedding planners who will organise everything, not to mention celebrants who will carry out the blessing. It's a fantastic way to have a fairytale wedding without getting bogged down in the formalities.[:D] Lucy 

Just on a positive note here, we moved to France 13 years ago when our son was 10 and our daughter was 5. Our son is now in his second year at the Ecole Nationale Veterinaire in Toulouse and our daughter is taking her Bac S in June and wants to study Pharmacy. As a family we have found the education system here superb - it is hard at times, very competitive but overall it is fantastic. Lucy