Returning to the UK

[Artois]

After 3 years in a French school our sons will be returning to school in the UK in September, year 9.

We appreciate the transition may not be easy as we expect them to have a lot of catching up to do.

Has anyone else experienced this? would be grateful for any advice.

[Suze01]

Some friends of ours are currently in the process of moving back after about three years (it's not you is it Mark?!).  The 14 year old was taken out of French school at Easter and has been 'home tutored' using the BBC GCSE Bitesize internet resources.  They are going back at the end of June so that he can have the last three weeks at school (his old one) and be assessed to see if he needs to drop back a year, then he will start back in September.

Good luck with your move back.

[Artois]

Suze, thank you for your reply but sorry to disappoint you no I am not Mark.

I will have a look at the BBC site.

We are returning solely for educational reasons, is the same true for your friends?

We really do not want to return but feel the boys will be disadvantaged at their current school. We live in a farming community where education is not a priority. Although their spoken French is indiscernible from their friends, their written work is poor including their English!

It has been a painful decision and a case of education versus quality of life. 

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Artois"]

Suze, thank you for your reply but sorry to disappoint you no I am not Mark.

I will have a look at the BBC site.

We are returning solely for educational reasons, is the same true for your friends?

We really do not want to return but feel the boys will be disadvantaged at their current school. We live in a farming community where education is not a priority. Although their spoken French is indiscernible from their friends, their written work is poor including their English!

It has been a painful decision and a case of education versus quality of life. 

[/quote]

You have rather more faith in the UK educational system than our experience would suggest is appropriate.

 

[Blanche Neige]

"You have rather more faith in the UK educational system than our experience would suggest is appropriate."

 

Nick,

 I think it will depend on the area and school they choose. I am sure you haven't experienced every educational establishment in the land [blink] and there are good ones and of course some less good ones. Artois and family have taken this decision and I expect they have done their research before making this major move.

To Artois and family,

Bonne chance et bon courage.

[Deby]

We came back nearly two years ago (passed so quickly) having spent 6 years in France.  We too were in a farming/rural community and the educational ethos was to raise people to work at either the Decheterie/chalk factory/farming.  The expectations of the community were met by the school.  We also lived in a french city and opted for privee schooling which we found infintely superior.  However, the both schools were very prescriptive and we struggled with it.  This is purely mine and my husband's opionion and what we desire for our children.

When we returned, my daughter started in Year 2 and son in Reception.  My daughter really enjoyed the varied nature of subjects and the intereaction she had with her teacher and classmates.  She came home recounting all what she had learned during the day.  This first year did require alot of effort from her, we had to spend hours teaching her to write in a slightly different way, but the school never saw this as a problem. Home support was very crucial in this first year and now she is sailing along. My son has simply thrived. Both children love their school. 

My advice is to prepare using the BBC resources and there are books which you can buy from WHSmith which will give your children an idea of the content. If you can give as much support to them during this transition year it will pay off.  Engage with the head and some key teachers asking for their support.  In my experience, teachers in the UK want children to learn and succeed.  Some may disagree with this point, but at least the UK system is child focussed.

I am sure everything will be fine and good luck.

Deby

[Hoddy]

Artois, I can't offer advice from a parent's point of view, but perhaps some thoughts from a former secondary school teacher may be helpful.

Firstly, I hope that you've chosen your school with care. It's a good idea to choose one that's doing well in the league tables. Bear in mind that in three year's time your boys will be part of their statistics and they will therefore have a vested interest in your boy's  success.

Secondly, they need to be warned about some of their companions. It sometimes happens that even hardworking pupils in Year 9 slacken their efforts in those subjects which they know they won't be doing in the following year. Your boys will presumably making their minds up a little later than the others and need to work hard at everything.

Deby's advice about engaging with their teachers is a good. In most schools their year head will be responsible for their academic progress and should probably be your first port of call.

The GCSE bitesize revision exercises are just that; they are intended as revision for GCSE coursesin Years 10 and 11. They are very good for what they are; nuggets of knowledge for examination questions. For your boys though, they would be pre-empting the future rather than consolidating the past. I feel pretty confident that you would find some other publications more relevant to your situation.

There will be lots of hard work ahead for them; at least their French will be miles ahead of everyone else's.

The best of luck to them and you.

Hoddy

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Blanche Neige"]

"You have rather more faith in the UK educational system than our experience would suggest is appropriate."

 

Nick,

 I think it will depend on the area and school they choose. I am sure you haven't experienced every educational establishment in the land [blink] and there are good ones and of course some less good ones. Artois and family have taken this decision and I expect they have done their research before making this major move.

To Artois and family,

Bonne chance et bon courage.

[/quote]

Well, they haven't given us those specifics, have they? So, if the secondary schools in the UK that I have experience of, are indicative of the standards of UK secondary schooling as a whole (and why wouldn't they be?), then I stand by my original comment.

Not that this has any real relevence to the OP's question. I just happen to think that, especially above A-Level/BAC the French system is so much better (and by better, I mean more academic - like wot I lernd).

 

[Russethouse]

As I read it they are going back to their old school.?

[Kali3]

We returned to UK earlier than Year 9 so can't really comment on this from personal experience. However, our son is just finishing Year 9 in a UK comprehensive school so we can comment from this perspective. Of course, children are all different in their academic inclinations and personalities. Schools are different too. However, generally: better Year 9 than Year 10, and better Year 10 than Year 11. GCSE courses/coursework begin in Year 10, and it's important to view Years 10 and 11 as a block in the UK, unlike IGCSEs which I think are a year's course, could be wrong. (A friend of ours brought her son back for Year 11, and he pretty much flunked his GCSEs.) Anyway, your son (sons?) will have some time to get into the groove, and if he's a native speaker and already has a reasonable grounding in written English from upper primary, so much the better.

Coming into a school like ours, your son would have to find his feet quite quickly in order to make appropriate GCSE choices halfway through Year 9. If the school operates a setting system (some set for a couple of subjects, some for nearly everything) then there might be a problem if the school places your son (because of his written English) in a low set. In our school, this would mean he would be in classes of children who aren't very motivated and can be disruptive. So my advice would be to go into this side of things very carefully with the school.

On the plus side, I agree that UK teachers will be looking to help your son rather than fail him.

On the social side, it could be an adjustment, as the other children will already have been together for two years or more. Depends on your son's personality and on luck, of course.

Good luck!

[Artois]

Thanks to all, parents and Teachers, for the advice.

We are returning to our original home, fortunately in one of the better areas of the UK. We have made our 3 choices of school and are waiting to see which we have been allocated. We are under no illusions that the UK system is superior to the French but feel on balance it would be beneficial to our twin boys who are currently both struggling in the French system. We have great respect for the French Lycee system and the BAC but it is no good if our sons fall so far behind they don't make it to that stage. We are impressed by the intense teaching of the 3r's in French school something we feel can be neglected in some UK schools. On the other hand we do feel they are misisng out on I.T. art, hands on science here in France. We feel this is of significance particularly to less academic children. We are as yet unsure if this is true in their case, or they are just late developers.

The social side worries us as we are giving up so much here and education is not everything. Life here is so much less pressurised, they have freedom to roam and more time to grow up. Will they turn into stroppy teenagers overnight following our return?

Another aspect is the potential problems of keeping up the French. Will they develop English accents when no longer immersed in French life. We intend to keep our house here and spend every available moment of our spare time here. We will encourage them to maintain their current friendships, but how long will they want to come with us on holiday?

The joys of having children!