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Moving with a reluctant teen? - views welcome


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 £10000 per year!!![blink][blink].

Are you telling me that shelling out that amount of money buys you easy integration into this country?.

Just what exactly are you paying for...a British education in a French environment?[8-)]

Some people have more money than sense!.

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[quote user="Jura"]

 £10000 per year!!![blink][blink].

Are you telling me that shelling out that amount of money buys you easy integration into this country?.

Just what exactly are you paying for...a British education in a French environment?[8-)]

Some people have more money than sense!.

[/quote]

I have seen them advertised for 20,000 euro pa.  And, shelling out that kind of money does not buy you integration into the county, but peace of mind that a parent is doing their best for their childrens education.  Especially those people taking older children over.  If I moved to France with my teenage children, it would definately be the route that I would take otherwise, I would wait.

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One of the things that amazed me in England was the number of people who remortgaged their houses to put their kids in a private school (many of whom could not be called "rich") as if it was some kind of Holy Grail. 

It is not just the fees, you get sollicited at every occasion in a private school... Ick! [+o(]

 

 

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Roll up - Roll - up.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Bring your children to Bugbears Super Duper Private School.

They will get the right education to enhance their lives to the full and in return all I ask is a cheque for £10,000.00 per child per term.

Food and Accomodation is extra for boarders.

French & English spoken.......................

 

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A necessity that allows the parents the luxury of following their own dream with a guilt free conscience?  I think it would be easier to justify a private education in the UK than international school in France...at least with the former the children may benefit by having a better education.

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Yes Scoobie, I can see where you are coming from there, but what about families who could move to a city or a large town and the children are up for it too.  Do you not think that would be a good opportunity to broaden these teenagers horizons?

And I repeat..... ONLY, if the teenagers are up for it too.

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[quote user="Sigognac"]

One of the things that amazed me in England was the number of people who remortgaged their houses to put their kids in a private school (many of whom could not be called "rich") as if it was some kind of Holy Grail. 

[/quote]

Hi Sigognac... we sent our son to a private school in the UK and whilst we didn't remortgage it was a very big commitment for us and as you say we are not 'rich'.  We lived in a rural area but our local small village school became a popular choice with people outside the village.  Over the years the school grew in numbers and we ended up with over 350 children at the school.  There was a computer for everyone but the children couldn't read or write, super classrooms with 65 children and touch screens but no indoor sports/assembly hall . 

As well as being hi-tech the school,with a good OFSTED, the school also gained a reputation for taking children that didn't settle in other schools, or those perhaps with attention or behavoural difficulties... this resulted in an unbalance and also disrupted classrooms and larger class sizes (34 in my sons).  We lived in a rural area so there were no other schools to change to and the closest other schools were full; there was no choice apart from going private... we thought it was worth it. 

I hasten to add we only paid £6000 a year (did I really say only?!) and not £10,000 but, to quote another here, it gave us peace of mind... I never ever thought that I would put a child of mine into the private school system but I knew his local school was failing him.  The year we left the old school, from my sons class, 7 other local children were withdrawn and moved to other schools (6 of them private)... great shame for the village, I'm just glad we could afford to pay the fees... sadly not everyone had that choice and that is the greatest shame.

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[quote user="BP"]Why are you guys so mean on this forum.  So, Jura has a difference of opinion...so what...?    And yes, perhaps she is angry and thus is not so laid-back in her messages...again so what? That doesn't mean her opinion is not valid....[/quote]Jura is, like the rest of us, perfectly entitled to her views and opinions, but it has to be said that entering a thread with

[quote user="Jura"]Oh for gods sake, here we go again. [/quote]

might not be seen by some as an ideal opening gambit [:)]

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[quote user="raindog"][quote user="pale pink specs"]


I hasten to add we only paid £6000 a year 

[/quote]
that's as much as some people earn[:(]
[/quote]

I know... and we aren't rich.  We just felt we had little or no choice.  We even considered moving house to get into another school area but that really did seem extreme.  As I say, we were lucky ,we managed to find the money...  [8-)]  I have a friend that moved 2 children into private education... I have no idea how she can find an extra £12,000?  I'm not sure they know either!  She is working just to pay school fees.

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There are clearly situations when private is the only solution, and one should not have to jusytify himself.

However, I was refering to people equating private = better, which is not always true, especially if you balance the time and sacrifices one will have to make to pay the fees, and the actual results. Especially in terms of having to work so much that you no longer have time to spend with your kids, which is after all also key to a successful education.

 

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[quote user="Just Katie"]Sigognac, are you talking about putting their children into a private school in UK which could be viewed as a social climbing exercise or, putting their children into  a private school in France which would be viewed as a necessity?[/quote]

Quite true in the UK, equally true in France, although as usual it is more complicated on our side of the Channel, where you have private and private. Most of the "private" schools in France are in fact confessional schools, mostly catholic, which are state funded; must follow the national curriculum, but cannot select on the grounds of religion. There would be an entry fee, but very low, in the range of 300 euros a year. This system works all the way to University.

Then there are the really private school (you even find some that replicate the "olde England" system with ties, blazers, etc.), where you pay through the nose, and a number of murky institutions which (mostly at Lycé level) can prepare you for the "concours" (the infamous "boîtes à concours").

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[quote user="Sigognac"]

There are clearly situations when private is the only solution, and one should not have to jusytify himself.

However, I was refering to people equating private = better, which is not always true, especially if you balance the time and sacrifices one will have to make to pay the fees, and the actual results. Especially in terms of having to work so much that you no longer have time to spend with your kids, which is after all also key to a successful education.

[/quote]

Totally agree with you Sigognac... It's odd you say about justifying our decision and very true.  Our parents all came from the very humblest of backgrounds and the idea of their grandson being in private education was for them a very proud moment... for us... well me, it seemed a bit of a betrayal and I did worry we would be seen as someone said 'social climbing'.   

Also agree that the time you spend with your children is paramount - I worked in Early Years and sometimes with children and families from deprived areas. (Surestart) We were always being told that research showed the single biggest factor in a child's success is the affluence of their family and the amount of time parents spend with their child, either helping with homework, attending school events or just simply doing things together as a family.  Leaving our sons new school was difficult (it was fantastic), but having time to do things together outweighed this...  I think our son has spent more time with his Dad in the last 3 months than he did in the entire previous year.

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[quote user="Sigognac"]

However, I was refering to people equating private = better, which is not always true, especially if you balance the time and sacrifices one will have to make to pay the fees, and the actual results. Especially in terms of having to work so much that you no longer have time to spend with your kids, which is after all also key to a successful education.

 

[/quote]

I agree.  I was in London the other day chatting to two nannies.  The one told me she was only one of four nannies in her household.  The employer had a day nannie and night nannie during the week and, the same for the weekend.  I found this really upsetting and asked her how the children cope when a nannie may move on to another employer. I was told that she has seen the children grieve on a number of occassions.[:@][:@].

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[quote user="Just Katie"]

I agree.  I was in London the other day chatting to two nannies.  The one told me she was only one of four nannies in her household.  The employer had a day nannie and night nannie during the week and, the same for the weekend.  I found this really upsetting and asked her how the children cope when a nannie may move on to another employer. I was told that she has seen the children grieve on a number of occassions.[:@][:@].

[/quote]

That is so sad... and without wishing to open up a whole new can of worms... you do wonder why the parents decided to have children... ?

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[quote user="Just Katie"]

I know many boarders[/quote]

One of many cultural differences, in the UK a boarder refers more often than not to a posh school. In France the "pensionnat" (boarding school) tends to refer to a very ordinary school, as it is not uncommon in rural areas to have the children stay at the lycée during the week.

The same goes for "seminariste", which refers to someone going to a school run by priests and which i think, but i could be completely wrong, would be the closest equivalent to the British private school (did they not use to be called public schools?), as discipline and teaching are strict, but fees a lot lower though.

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Hello

The international schools I have looked at start at around 8k euros per year rising to 11k per year and that was in a very large city, I would be interested to know where the one that charge 20k is.

It's not all about integration, my son is pretty much fluent in French (after 4.5 years in france) but I am concerned that the local rural secondary school is not what I want for him.  Don't get me wrong the primary education has been great for him but I want to give him the best chance possible of following his aspirations to the full and also the chance of pursuing which ever career he choses, that for me means his English needs to be at the same level as his French,.  The international school I am considering follows the English curriculum and he would take International GSCE's, he can then chose (if he wishes) to go to Uni in the UK but as French is studied intensively he could also opt for a French uni. The other benefit for me is that should we have to return to the UK, you never really know if that could happen (main threat being lack of work), he will not suffer unduly because he could enter the UK system without issue.

So my reasons for considering a French international school are very different from someone bringing a teen in reluctantly, I would say though that from what I've seen of it the teen would get a good rounded education in one of these schools without risking total failure of exams as they would be following the curriculum they are used to, and being taught in English but with strong emphasis on French surely gives the best of both worlds for them if they really are going to be forced to come!!

Panda

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Hi Panda - I think what you say makes a great deal of sense.  So far we're happy with our local primary school and it suits our sons needs, but like you, certainly when we start thinking about senior schools we will also want to consider all of the options.   [:)]
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Hello PPS

Yes, all options are going through my mind, which is why I am horrifed by threads like these where the education of the teen does not seem to be the most important thing, mess up at this crucial age and you could really mess their life up.  Is that OTT, perhaps it's just me...??

Panda

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