DancingFairy

[quote user="Cathy"] Another difference between French and British primary schools:  The French teach the children intensively right to the end of the summer term.  My son has been having daily classroom tests this week.  His former classmates in the UK effectively finished academic work at the end of May after the SATS, when British primary schools seem to completely wind down. [/quote] You cannot generalise like that.   Our école primaire finished academic work 2 weeks ago.   For most of June they do nothing but drawing and playing.  Perhaps your teachers are inefficient, and could not finish the course work in time?  

We learned SOHCAHTOA, which almost rhymes with Krakatoa.   Sine-Opposite/Hypotenuse, Cosine-Adjacent/Hypotenuse, Tangent-Opposite/Adjacent. There are elements of education in France which could (or should) be better (and occasionally they are), but there are problems and attitudes inherent in the system that can quickly and effectively outweigh the positive elements.  

[quote user="chris pp"] The battle of Waterloo was only lost because Napoleon had piles and couldn't get on his horse. [/quote] I've heard it was because the French soldiers stopped to eat strawberries on the way.  

You are not allowed to own property in England because everything belongs to the Queen. English has no grammar.  

[quote user="Patmobile"] I've just found out the Green Party want to get rid of the monarchy. [/quote] And how will this help the environment?    Why don't they remove the right to vote from expats?    They use more air fuel and produce more hot air than the royal family, after all!      

[quote user="Mme poivre"] OH and my self have been invited to go to Lille in a few weeks to participate in some sort of bed race,  is there anyone out there who can enlighten us as to what will be expected. we were told it is in Lille, that its a bit of fun and its very french Help what have we let ourselves in for? [/quote] You have let yourself in for a bed race.   Perhaps it is French, perhaps it is not.   Here is one of many UK bed races.   http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/bedrace/  

[quote user="Jay"]Or even better - another country. [/quote]   And your problem is? 

[quote user="Cerise"]  Maybe it is nicer just to take the neighbours booze and ignore the fact that they are members of the local National Front! [/quote] Yes, it is certainly easier.   Ignorance is bliss, after all.   Reality only spoils the view. 

You can read about similar issues in France if you are interested:  http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/france/societe/0,,4410874,00-un-flic-s-en-prend-aux-tabous-de-la-police-.html

[quote user="Will"]  that France operates the same as Britain, but everything is better and cheaper. By the time they find out that it's not like that[/quote] Perhaps it is like that, Will, if you have oodles of spare cash and don't speak much French? I have seen many posters make posts such as "we don't speak much French and our neighbours don't speak English, but we all get on really well". If one is more interested in the apéro than in the person one is apéro-ing with, then that is lovely.   Superficial, but lovely.      

[quote user="tegwini"]  Sixth  form/ FE college (for 17-18 yr olds)  is usually very specialised indeed.   The Bac has lots to recommend it [/quote]   Tegwini, perhaps you do not know in fact how the baccalaureat system works? You choose which bac to do.   If you have a bac pro spécialisé en making false teeth, or in maintenance automobile, then you're pretty much stuck with making false teeth or fixing cars for the rest of your life - if you find a job at all.   And it's not easy to change path - there are structural and cultural barriers in your way.   That's what this story is all about. Of course the bac has its good points, but it is not in itself an all-encompassing, all-enabling qualification, and it is silly to romanticise it as such.   In fact, Darcos has been making noises that he wants to change the system to be more like the English one.