Holiday home to Real Home - in 2007

[Goodlife]

We will be moving next summer ('07) to the Sarte region, having purchased a beautiful house there two years ago.  For the same reasons as many on here (UK booze culture, hate-thy-neighbour, terrorism, baseball bat fights in the town center every Friday evening, non-respect) we are growing tired of current UK culture and with 3 children (6,8,9) we do not want them growing up in the UK version of the world.

We are now looking at schooling for the kids.  We have started their French speaking education, but until they arrive in France they will not get near the standard needed for integrating and understanding their teachers.  Has anyone on here experience of putting non-French speaking children into school?  What's the general modus-operandi?  Are they given extra lessons?  Are they kept back a year to ensure the content is not challenging?  Do the other mothers look at you like an alien at the school gates!???   My wife is particularly worried about this, given our French is 'intermediate', not fluent - and those locals speak so damm fast don't they :-)

Anyone on here from the northern Sarthe region who could share experiances (and a glass of red) with us?

[Joy1]

Hi Goodlife. Best wishes with the move next year. We moved to Normandie last November with our two children aged 11 and 8. When we arrived the only children could only speak a few words of French. ( We had tried to teach them a few basics before the actual move, but they weren't very keen to learn at that point!) We enroled them at the local Primary school (through the Mairie) to begin at the start of term in January. Our 11 year old son was put into CM2 instead of college but our 8 year old daughter was put in the correct class CE2. We visited the school in December and the children met their future teachers and their new classes (this helped put their minds at rest!!!). When they started at school in January we expected a few problems but they both settled really well. The teachers were very helpful and could speak a little English. What really helped was that my husband can speak fluent french and was able to speak to the teachers without difficulty, I'd encourage you to practice your french in preparation! By Easter both children were begining to communicate with their teachers and classmates in french. They seemed to make the most progress over the holidays when they spent all day playing with the neighbours children! My sons teacher was interested in teaching French to non- french children and took both children for extra language lessons for 2 hours a week whilst the rest of his class did English.  Anyway, both children have mooved up into the next class this September and are making excellent progress.(Our son is now at college.) I'm sure that not all children can adapt so easily, but I wanted to encourage you with our experience.All the best Joy.

[Lori]

Welcome Goodlife.  If you do a search on this subject, you will find a huge amount of data already posted on this very subject.  You will find all kinds of advice and all kinds of personal experiences with children the same age as yours.  You might even find folks from the same area.

Our daughter was 7 when she arrived in France, was not held back a year as she had already attended a private French school for two years in the U.S.  Our experience has been exceptional - parents, teachers, students, schools, etc.  Many do not have this type of luck (if you want to call it that).  Each family / student is different.

Again, do try to search the subject, you could read for days ...

Good luck to you and your family.

[Wils]

Hello Goodlife

We arrived here 6 years ago with children 1, 3 and 12 years old. The older two were put straight into French school. Within 6 weeks both were conversing with classmates and teachers (none of who spoke English). Things just continued from there and all three are now totally fluent and loving it. Our eldest who is now 18 has just passed her 1st year Bac and is looking forward to going on to university. The two younger ones have an excellent education at the local village school. Regarding other perents we had no problems what so ever, my wife spoke good French (and I must agree with the other reply, it is you who need to get stuck in to the French lessons) and we were very soon adopted into the local community, a task made so much easier when you have children of school age. My advise, don't worry too much, children adapt. Encourage them to have their new French friends around to play and you will be amazed by their progress, our biggest problem nowadays is making sure ours speak English at home, just so they don't forget it! 

 

[Emma]

Hi and goood luck with your move - despite a few misgivings re: our daughters education here, it is the best thing we have ever done. My only advice is that which I wish I had known myself before I came.  We moved here over 2 years ago and our daugher who was almost 10 at the time went straight to the local primary school. There were only 2 teachers and 65 pupils and so the teachers were each teaching 3 different age groups of children and already had more than they could cope with on their hands and they just didn't know where to start with an English child. We asked about other school options as there is a larger school only 3 miles away but were told ( by the larger schools headmistress) that it wasn't possible for Rosie to go there as it was a different commune. We have since found out that this isn't the case at all. Although in France it is usual to go to the local school in your commune, you can apply to go to another school elsewhere if you have reson to prefer it. They always told us she was improving - and her language did, but truthfully they had neither the time or resources to devote to her. She repeated the final year of this school and started College this September at 12 and is very behind in all subjects.

So - with hindsight, I would go to the school and ask them if they have previously had foreign students and ask what extra help they will be given to help them adapt. Since joining the forum just a few days ago, I have already heard that in some schools children get 8 - 12 hours extra French per week. I also just spoke to a family that have just moved to the midi and their two daughters are both getting 1-1 help with their French with the school director daily.

Sadly the only help my daughter got was to be put in the ecole maternelle class with the 4 year olds learning their A,B,C's

If the school doesn't have a good plan for helping your children adapt - look at a different school. I wish we had.  Best of luck,

Emma

[Lori]

Emma is right.  Check out the school before enrolling.  And, yes, you can apply for your child to attend a school in a different commune.  It is unfortunate Emma was told otherwise by the larger school, but not totally surprising.  You can find this type of "incomplete" response to all kinds of things in France (and perhaps elsewhere). 

As Emma has said, do your homework first.  And don't necessarily take the first answer as the only answer.