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Redoubling in primaire or college?


Shelly
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We have just moved here. Our daughter who will be 11 in August has started at the village school. The three children in her year will be leaving for the college in September. The teacher is waiting for an answer from the college to see if she,ll be able to move with them. I know that she'll have to then redouble her first year. The problem is, the other children are so much younger and childlike than her that she feels that she won't be stimulated by them if she stays. She's grown up for her age as english children tend to be. I know that we might not have the choice anyway but has anyone experienced this. She speaks some french and has had private lessons for 8 months before we arrived. There aren't any other english children in the primaire. This is good as it has forced her to speak french with her friends. Any experienced views will be welcome. Thanks.

 

 

 

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Both mine redid their final years at primaire and it stood them well for collège which can be quite an upheaval for a newly arrived and there is always plenty of homework to do. There is absolutely no stigma here whenkids redouble their years, there was a boy who didn't leave our village primaire until he was 13 because he just wasn't able to cope with collège and he has gone on and done quite well. From personal experience I would get your daughter to do the year again especially as you havn't been here that long and she does have a lot of catching up to do grammatically and historically.
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Has she made firm friends with the children going on up to college this year?  Giving her an extra year at primaire, may help her make more friends and serve her well when she does move up.  My son is redoubling this year, his class are moving up to college, but luckily he has more friends in cm1 so is staying/ moving with them to cm2 , and he is very happy about that.  And he is going to get a little extra help this year  too.  So, for us, redoubling is a good option.
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I've not had this problem as a parent but as a collège teacher, I would advise that she satys back in the primary school for another year, rather than counting on her retaking 6eme.

First because collège is a bit of a shock for a lot of children (French or not) Going from small classes with one teacher to classes of 28 pupils and 9 different teachers isn't always easy. The whole collège structure can be quite confusing. Collège pupils aren't going to get as much one to one attention as primary pupils and teachers are more likely to gloss over a pupil who is struggling (of course, I am generalizing  here) There is a programme and it has to be taught and the weaker pupils (for whatever reason) are often left by the wayside if they can't keep up.

Next, because if she goes up to 6eme now and makes friends with people in her class, it will be more difficult for her to accept staying back (I agree with Tetly's comment about having a group of friends, although kids who stay down do make new friends in their class)

Lastly, I happen to believe that a pupils ought to retake a year at the point the difficulties appear and not wait until they are deeper. I have difficulty with the idea of moving a pupil up in order to retake a year the following year. (this is more valid for French kids and it is my personal opinion, not the opinion of all teachers)

A lot depends on her level of French. If she is capable of following and understanding classes, she will cope much better, but if her French is still "juste" in 6eme, she may find it too much. I have several non- french pupils in my classes and a lot of them have just given up, they arrived in, say, 5eme and were expected to get on with it (we actually have fle lessons in my school) and a lot of them tried hard for a few months but were just overwhelmed by the constant French and not understanding what was going on and what was expected of them.

Rereading, I've probably painted a blacker picture than I had planned. I'm just in the middle of conseils de classe and I'm a bit fed up of non-french pupils being accused of not trying herd enough when they've only been here a year or so.

 

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Hi Shelly,

Do you really think all english children are all grown up for their age? Compared to who? Surely all children are different everywhere, in Scotland, France, China, everywhere?! Either way it is a shame for you daughter, if she is mature for her age, to have to stop back a year. However, even if the type of games the other kids play seem immature to her she will surely be disadvantaged a little by the language - you say that she speaks 'some' french - so surely she will be stimulated by them language-wise. If it were my son I would prefer him to gain some confidence in the language now, before the real studying begins and there is less time for 'integrating', but you know your daughter best.

Good luck and I do hope she settles in wherever she gets placed,

Jane

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hi,

Thanks for all your comments. It's very helpful to hear your experiences. I feel that she will stay at the primaire for another year. There are only three pupils moving up in her class and she is friends with them. I know i've got to be politically correct so no I don't think that all english children are the same, i'm just speaking from my experience, sorry if that is wrong. She was in a class of 35 in England so 20 is a novelty. This week is much better as i've had children around for tea etc. I'ts very good for my daughter as she has to speak french and she's just getting on with it. Early days yet!

 

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Another thing you may not know is that when the kids start in 6eme, they are often split up from their previous primaire friends anyway and intermingled with the kids from several other primaire. I've lost count of the number of new friends both my two have had over the past 12.5 years of schooling here BUT if they make good friends since primaire you will find they tend to continue to be friends wherever they finally end up. My daughter has had the same friend since primaire and has now finished university but that particular friend still comes to see her, they visit each other where they studied and so on, good friends tend to stay just that and as for growing up slower here, depends on the home background but at least they are not all out boozing and hanging round on street corners during week nights because of the amount of homework they have to get done.
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Hi, my daughter came home yesterday with the news that she will be moving to college in September. Someone came in to the class to assess her and they said that it wouldn't be in her best interest to stay there. She has her induction day this Friday. Now after all your comments i'm hoping that she will be able to keep up. They haven't mentioned re doubling but i'm sure that she will and I know there isn't a stigma attached to it. I would prefer her to do it. I will find someone to give her lessons throughout the summer. I've also bought some Cm2 maths books to practise with her the french way to do maths. Anymore tips would be welcome! She will continue to have someone to help her in the school. The school has had english pupils before which should help. I can't believe how many things they need for the rentree. Thanks.
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  • 3 weeks later...

I agree with Shelly that French children are, in general, much less mature than English ones, particularly from about 8 onwards.  When we arrived two and a half years ago, my children found their peers quite immature in the games they played, their outlook and particularly with regard to independence.  As Jane says, all children are different but Shelly needs to look at it from the point of view of her own child. If she is a lot more mature than her peers then it will not do her any good to stay in primaire for a year and be miserable and probably lonely.

My son arrived half way through CM2. Although the youngest in his year he was much more mature than his classmates. We opted to send him to college where we knew he would be happier. He's just finished 6eme and will go up to 5eme in September. He's very happy there and when I look at the children in CM2 of his old school I know we made the right decision as he has nothing in common with them at all.

Bonne chance Shelly


 

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