Moving to France with Children
May 23, 2008
Hi there Tony,
My Husband and I have been talking about moving to France for many years and haven’t had the courage to do it! We have been holidaying in France for 12 years and Pezenas for the last 5-6 years. We have a 6 year old son and we seriously now would like to move to France but the most important thing for us is a school for our boy. Do you know of a good state school in the area where they have some support for children who are not initially fluent in French? My French is about at A level stage.
Cheers
Sarah
==
Hello Sarah
At the age of six, you son will be speaking French in a matter of weeks. My advice is to start him in the school local to your home so he will make friends with the local kids. Don’t bother with any English speaking part of the education or look for special schools, this is a waste of time and money and will not help in any way. English is a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
Before you come there are many excellent videos to help - we found the Muzzy series brilliant and I see this is still available
Muzzy for USA Muzzy for UK
All education in France is in French and it is to a very high standard. There are some bilingual schools in large cities, these are private and standards vary, they are obliged to follow the French curriculum.
We came to France when our girls were 2 and 4, they are now 22 and 19, both are at University and got excellent results in the baccalaureate, they both speak three languages - our son is 13 and was born here, he is also tri-lingual. My main reason for coming to live in France was to get away from the English education system and I am very proud of my children.
Hope this helps
Best wishes
Tony
Comment by Richard
I would agree with Tony. Our 3 were 8, 10 and 12 when we arrived last year and they are all in the local french schools and have picked up the language so well. In another 12 months they will all be fluent. Its one of the things that made us want to move here to be able to watch the kids growing up bilingual.
Comment by Clio
“excellent results”
thanks Dad !!
Comment by Home education in France
Hi Tony,
I just wanted to mention another option to school (in both England and France, plus many other countries) - which is home education or homeschooling.
We’re home educating our two boys who are 6 and 8 and teaching them ourselves with some help from a French tutor and they’re really enjoying it.
We only got French TV when we moved here, to help with the language and we ourselves learnt lots of French by watching DVDs either in French with English subtitles or in English with French subtitles.
They have a very active social life and there’s a home education get together every Tuesday in Couiza - in fact, there’s now 8 home educating families living in Esperaza alone, so socialising is very simple - they also do karate and circus workshop and mix with other kids in the village.
It’s obviously time consuming, but we love our kids and are happy to be with them. I think it’s an option worth considering even if just for a few months, to allow kids time to adjust to the language and culture without being thrust in at the deep end.
Click the link above for more information, or visit Indigoextra.com.
Best wishes,
Martin
Comment by Tasha
I really appreciate the comments from the many parents. I have for many years thought about moving to France. I just completed my Masters. I worried that since my children are 10 and 12, it will be difficult for them to learn the language. But after reading the comments including the desire for my children to move to France, I feel they will be okay.
Another concern, teaching english is a good opportunity, or there other options for work like with non-profits. My french on a scale of 5, is a 2.5. Have not spoken in over five years, but read find.
Kind regards,
Tasha
Comment by Desiree De Courcy
This is for Sarah’s question regarding a good school close to Pezenas…while living in Pezenas I heard that the primary school in Tourbes (5 mins away) is extremely good and that children come from miles around to attend including English speaking children. I hope that is of interest. - Desiree
Comment by Hari
Hi Tony,
I appreciate all comments. I do plan to move to France from Canada and my concern is for the education of my 12 year old son, who can speak only English. My plan is to move Rouen and I would like to know from you about availability of Bilingual schools at Rouen.
Kind Regards,
Hari