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English/International school


Yomper

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Hello

new person here, probably been posted a million times before so here goes anyway, we are looking at properties in the dordogne area to move to but we cannot seem to find an international/english speaking school for our 10 year old son is there any in the area? we know of the one in Bordeaux but it may be too far from where we are looking (Verteillac, Ribérac and Bergerac areas) , we would like to place him into a french school at some point but not straight away just to give him time to adjust any suggestions or help greatly appreciated.

thanks

Yomper

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Hello

I only know of the one in Bordeaux, an international school may not help him adjust as they teach the english curriculum as far as I can tell which will mean if he attended such a school he would still have the jump into the very different french system when ever you move him. 

Panda

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thanks Panda

we have considered this, ideally we would prefer him to go straight into a french school but we dont know how he would react to this maybe someone knows of a french school which already has british children attending.

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In the Dordogne you should not be short of schools with English kids, there are a number here too in the Charente.. 

We have just moved down here from further north and around these parts some days you can play spot the french car and not often win.... (lots of holiday homes) but seriously, lots of english families live in the general south Charente/ Dordogne area, ask at the estate agents.  Don't forget though at 10 years old you know your mind and even if there are other english kids your son might not like them, they also speak english to each other which delays the uptake of the language.

good luck with it!

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I would second Panda's comment that a school having english-speakers may actually be a drawback language-wise. I don't know about 10 yr olds but when our boy started at school (at just under 3yrs) I initially thought how nice it would be for him to have someone to talk to as he only spoke english. In hindsight I think he settled in much quicker because he didn't have the choice and was thrown in at the deep end. Of course it's hard at first but isn't every new school, regardless of language barriers? If your child is particularly timid or sensitive to change then of course that must be taken into account, but as Panda says, just because another child is english-speaking shouldn't mean your child will want to bond with them or would choose them as a friend in 'normal' circumstances. It's a tough call at this age, dependent on his character, language skills and all-round confidence. Good luck and I hope you find the school to suit him,

Jane

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