Moving Children to France

[GraemeD]

Hi

We are thinking of joining my parents in SW France but would like some experiences of moving children to French schools. I have 2 girls aged 10 ( soon to be 11 ) and 8. Any advice / comments ?

Thanks

[Lori]

Hello: We are American and moved to France when our daughter was 7 years old. She had had the benefit of attending a private French school in San Diego for two years before our arrival. Though I would not have called her totally fluent when we arrived, she was tested by the public school in Malaucene where she was to attend school. They determined that she should be placed in the normal grade for her age group - not held back due to being a foreign student. This was a huge gain for her. Often, if a student arrives into France and doesn't speak French at all, they are held back a grade level or more. This is often very hard for the arriving student.

I'm sure you will get lots of feedback on the site as there are many folks here to share their experiences. For us, it has been the most positive experience of the move. Our daughter has been in the French school system for 4 years now and she is currently the top student in her class. She is in her last year of Primary school and will be entering college, so she is probably close to the same grade level as your 10 year old.

There are so many things to consider, as I'm sure you know. How do your children feel about this? Do they have any learning difficulties that you know of? Where are you planning to live - small village, big city, International Private School or public? All these things can have an effect on how things go.

Overall, our experience has been fabulous. Not sure if that helps, but you can always let me know if you any specific questions I can answer.

Best of luck to you and your family.

[Lollie]

[quote]HiWe are thinking of joining my parents in SW France but would like some experiences of moving children to French schools. I have 2 girls aged 10 ( soon to be 11 ) and 8. Any advice / comments ?Thanks[/quote]

Hi

We moved to France two years ago with our children then 13, 10, and 8.   There have been ups and downs but generally they have settled in well to the system here and picked up the language well.  My eldest is to take his Brevet in a few weeks.   With regard to your 10 year old, I would consider leaving her in primary school for a final year, that way she will spend her first year in the same school as her sister, support for both, and it will be less daunting then heading straight into a large college, with many different teachers, particularly if the language could be a problem.

Good Luck

Lorraine  Dept 44

[Val_2]

My children were 8 & 10 when they started school in France now over ten years ago and have gone from strength to strength.It wasn't all plain sailing especially at first and tears all round,but the school helped where they could and after a few weeks,the UK was forgotten and new friends and experiences took place. Now both are continuing with higher education,one has her BAC and is in BTS and the other has just finished his BEP today and has already been accepted for another two years to do a BAC professional as well - that is a good result from being scared and out on a limb in the beginning.