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"No poor schools in France"
It will be hard to forget the looks on the faces of my two children (aged 12 and 13) when they came out of the school gates after their first day. If you’ve ever watched a World War One film, and seen shell shocked soldiers, you will have some idea of what I mean. One was trying hard not to cry, the other gave up the fight and howled. My heart sank. One of the reasons we had moved to France in the first place was to avail ourselves of the excellent French education system, and to escape the rapidly decaying British Comprehensive system. We had researched the subject carefully, or so we thought, and had accepted places at the local collège (this being the name given to secondary schools in France) feeling secure in the ‘knowledge’ that “there are no poor schools in France”… “all children behave well in France”… “all teachers in France speak some English”… and other commonly held beliefs.
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First day culture shock
The car journey home that first day was something I do not care to dwell upon. Barely speaking to me, my children took themselves up to their rooms, muttering darkly about having to go to bed NOW (at 6pm!) if they had to rise at 6.30 am again tomorrow. This, then, was our introduction to French school. The catalogue of woes was long and varied; the other students behaved badly, (though they did admit that in general the behaviour was not as bad as in England); the days were far too long (8am until 5pm, with a two hour lunch break… and oddly enough, it was the long lunch break which initially occasioned the most complaints); the teachers were, in the main, unhelpful and unfriendly, the school itself was a bleak and unwelcoming building with a marked absence of walls brightly decorated with samples of the pupils’ artwork. All of this was on top of the fact that they had no understanding whatsoever of anything that was said to them, either in the lessons or in the breaks. I suppose I had to admit I could see that they had a point…
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Pastoral Care?
With hindsight, I should have anticipated much of it. I had, I thought, prepared myself and the children for some difficulties at the start; however, none of us had expected it to be this bad. As I gradually got to know people in the area I found out that this particular school was known as a school with problems. It was in the ‘rough’ area of the town and over subscribed despite its poor reputation. The staff were also perpetually stressed as a result of dealing with badly behaved children, which hardly brought out the best of their teaching abilities. The last thing the staff wanted or needed was a couple of English kids who had their own very particular needs and problems. One or two of the staff were helpful (and I think others might have been had we had any means of effective communication), but in general ‘Pastoral Care’ seemed not to exist.
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Schools in France: reviewing the options after a bad start
The weeks went by, and things did not improve. I dreaded the mornings - the miserable faces that appeared at the breakfast table put a real blight on our dream of an exciting new life in France. I turned to the ex pats? online message boards for comfort, only to find others with children of similar ages telling equally sad stories. Clearly something had to be done. Asking around, I discovered there were two other schools in our town, as well as an International School some 45 minutes drive away in Toulouse. We discounted the International School after a perfunctory glance at the website. It looked excellent but the fees were well beyond our means, it would have meant a long twice daily drive and we also felt strongly that we wanted our children to be educated in a French speaking environment, so that they would eventually benefit from being bilingual. The best option seemed to be the other state school, which, we were reliably informed, was a considerably better and happier place than the school our children were attending. There were even two English children there already, and by all accounts they were settled happily and coping well. Our spirits rose, only to be dashed again when we were told that the state schools in our town operated on a catchment area basis, and we were simply not in the right catchment for that school.
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A Catholic school in France
Finally, we looked at the third option which was a private Catholic school. We had not initially considered this because, firstly, we are not Catholics, and secondly, we felt that private school fees were likely to be prohibitive. We went to see the Headmistress, and we were given a considerable interview-style grilling. The fact that our children were not Catholic was not a problem but the Headmistress seemed very concerned that our children would be well behaved and not disrupt either lessons or relationships within her school. We assured her that they would not but we were asked to go away and return at the end of the term with reports, both from the school they had attended in England and their current French school.
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The new French school decides...
By this point, we were convinced that this school would suit our children and we nervously waited for the reports to arrive. We knew the English reports were fine, but what would the French school say about two pupils who could barely understand the lessons, let alone be understood by their teachers? After much nail biting, the long awaited envelopes plopped into the letter box. It was like opening GCSE results all over again. We thought we understood the comments, and we thought all would be well, but my heart was hammering in my chest when I sat opposite Madame as she scanned the documents.
She looked up and smiled. We were in!
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Preparation and private school prices
Life after that was a whirl of activity - buying new stationery and equipment (les fournitures scolaires, which you do have to buy yourself, whether in private or state education) and collecting the necessary medical certificates (you are required to provide certificates of vaccinations against the normal childhood diseases. If you don’t have these, your doctor from Britain should be able to provide a faxed record) and also a certificate of general good health. We also needed to arrange insurance for the children to cover all eventualities at school and on school trips… this is not expensive and will probably form part of your household policy. In these little Church run schools, the fees bear no resemblance to the massive fees charged in the English private system. At our school, which is fairly typical, the fees at the time of writing (Nov 2005) are around 120 Euros per child, per month, and this includes an excellent three course meal four days a week, four that is because there is no school on Wednesday afternoons.
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A French school with a family-feel
When term began, we were all rather apprehensive, but when we arrived at the school gates we were totally reassured. There were a few other English-speaking children already at the college, and the staff were clearly at ease dealing with them. There was a real family atmosphere, with parents really involved with the school at every turn. The headmistress prides herself in knowing every child individually. She also takes an interest in their personal well-being as she considers that this is essential if their education is to be successful. Vive la différence!
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Some important differences between schools in the UK and France
At last we feel that we have got it right. Our children come home full of chatter about the things they have learned, the people they have met, and the friends they have made. Homework can still produce tears – clearly it is hard to do homework in a language you are not yet proficient in, and whatever you may hear to the contrary, teenage children will not become fluent French speakers overnight. It seems to take around eighteen months for them to become truly comfortable with the language, and longer for real fluency. However, they begin coping acceptably after the first year. Be prepared to allow them to ‘redoubler’ their first year, which means to remain in the same class and repeat the year. This is a much more common practice in France than in England and does not carry the same stigma. The hours are still long, but as they make friends they begin to enjoy the long lunch breaks, and they appreciate the atmosphere of quiet concentration in class. It is perhaps worth noting here that French schoolchildren do not wear school uniform (apart from in certain military schools). At first I thought that this would cause problems of the “must have the latest designer gear ’cos everyone else has” variety, but this has not proved to be the case. The kids seem much less ‘status conscious’ here, and mine really enjoy the relaxed feeling of going to school in jeans and t-shirts. They tell me that their French friends find the whole idea of wearing a uniform hilarious and even slightly ridiculous!
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Choose your French school with care
To sum up; relocating to France with teenage children is not an easy option, and should only be undertaken after much careful thought. Nevertheless, I believe it can be the best move you can make. You may see weeping, wailing, and messages of doom on ex pats message boards, but it doesn’t have to be like that if, like the children, you do your homework. Expect a tough first year, and ensure that your kids know what to expect too. Make your choice of school extremely carefully, after talking to people with first hand experience of the schools in question. Consider all your options…state schools in France are usually extremely good - we were just unlucky - but sometimes a small private school can be a good choice for children who need to adjust to a different language. There are many positives too…. the school lunches are excellent, the holidays are long, and of course, Wednesday afternoons are free!
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your questions...
1. Further advice needed about French state schools (added 8/10/07)...
Does anyone have any positive experiences from sending their children to a French state school? I have three children aged four, six and eight. We are planning to move over to France next year and were thinking we would put them in the local state school, but a lot of you seem to be saying state
schools don't have time for foreign children. Any advice would be appreciated.
A visitor to the site replies (added 13/11/07)...
I have just fallen across your website quite by chance and could not help reading the article about schooling in France. My experience may be slightly different in that my children were much younger when we arrived in France. My daughter who is now seven started school when she was three and my son who is nearly six also started just before he was three.
My daughter found her first year difficult, but a la rentree of her second year was speaking fluently with a local accent!! I am a firm supporter of the state system here and would never consider the private system unless in very extreme circumstances. I think if you can show support in the school, the school will support your children well in integrating into the school community.
I know people who have sent their children to our local private catholic school, and just because they are paying for it doesn't seem to mean they get a better education. I agree that coming here with children over the age of six should be well thought out, and you should be prepared for difficulties. If you speak French yourselves it will help, if you don't then this makes it doubly difficult for everyone.
2. A visitor to the site wants to know about home schooling and statistics (added 8/4/08)...
We are looking into moving to France from America in the next five years. Our children are six and eight right now. Are there any support groups for home schooling in France? After reading some of the articles about the colleges there, I'm petrified. I have taken four years of French, but my husband does not speak a lick of it. I am considering private tutors to teach them Latin before we move. I would like a website that has the school statistics on it. If anyone has that, please let me know!
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your comments...
1. Concern about schooling in France (added 17/7/07)...
I have just read your article about schooling in France and can't believe how similar it is to our experiences. We moved to France last December with our four children aged four, eight, ten and twelve. The younger three have settled really well, but our oldest daughter has had a really
hard time at the local College. We had always planned to go back to the UK after two terms, seeing our stay as a chance to improve the children's French at a time that didn't disrupt their schooling in the UK. However, we love the life
style out here and are now looking at options to stay. I have found a small Catholic school in the area that would be much better for our oldest daughter although she is still really keen to go back to the UK as her initial schooling experiences have been so hard.
If anyone has had any similar experiences or comments that may help us with our eventual decision then I should be very grateful to read them.
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