French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Hi everyone,

I am a French mum with 1 thirteen year old son who is planning to go back to live in French with her English husband next year, May 2018.
I am already thinking of schools and eventhough my son is able to speak French for normal day to day conversations, he is really worried as he cannot write nor express himself in French using sophisticated language.

I have heard that there are some schools which support new comers and heard about the Clos Fleuri in Isle Jourdain. Could anyone advise me? We are looking at buying a house 45 max from Toulouse and looking at villages between Montauban and Toulouse mainly.

Big thanks in advance - having your feedback will be wonderful.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Good morning and welcome to British Expats. Thank you for introducing yourself.

British expats has a lovely forum dedicated to all things French. You can ask your questions here: France - British Expats

BE has a wonderful member, petitefrancaise, who had lived in France for several years with her school age children. I'm sure she and a host of others will be happy to answer your questions for you.

Before posting it is asked that you have a read of the site rules linked on the beige header above.

Again, Welcome!

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Hi! Bonjour!

Clos Fleuri is in L'Isle Jourdain, if it 's the same one I'm thinking of?

It's a nice private catholic school and I had friends (British and French) that sent their kids there and were happy with it. L'Isle Jourdain is very pleasant, as indeed is the whole area. A lot of the schools in that area have had to cope with an influx of anglophones, and with you speaking French to your child, they have a headstart... There is CLIN which french support for non-francophones but I think your child is probably beyond this already. Google it and see what you think.

However, in Colomiers, there is the Lycee International Victor Hugo with the amazing English31 program which would probably be perfect for your son. It is for bi-lingual kids, french and english mother tongues (not just English). It works within the education national and your son will work towards Option International Baccalaureat and able tp apply to universities in France, other parts of EU including UK ( ?Brexit).
It is competitive entry to the program, your son will have to prove his level of English ( probably not a problem for him coming from the UK) .

https://www.english31.org/portfolio_...e-victor-hugo/

I would call them asap because you will need to prepare him for the entrance exam.

If you live in-area then you will have automatic entry to the Lycee anyway but you can apply for a derogation if your son is admitted to English31 and live out of area.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

There are you are PF. I knew we could count on your to help this young lady with her schooling questions in France.

Now it is time for me to exercise some of my meager power and ask that you ladies continue this conversation in the French forum. I will ask that it be transferred there for added ease.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

sorry Rete, didn't realise we weren't in the france section...

move away!

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

No problem. I asked for it to be transferred and if approved, it will be. If not, she can repost later in the France forum and still refer back here for your reply.

It is just the anal me who likes to keep it tidy ;)

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Thanks - that is really nice to get such a quick response! I have heard about the English31 but we may live a bit too far to have my son schooled there but will try and find out more. One side of me wants him to go to a French school and hope he will settle within 6 months as his French is not fluent but of course a bit worried as he is 13 and will be 14 when we move. He is also not in the highest groups academically - does not really like school :) - but has always shown good progress and engages in his class here in the UK very well. Just worried this knocks him back.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

So, he would have 1 year or 2 years at College before his Brevet?

You probably know that College is hard work and he might well struggle due to lack of french. That's part of the reason that I suggested English31 because then he would at least have some classes in French and he'd be around kids like him.

Where will work be for you? Peak hour traffic around Toulouse is horrible.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

arghhh!

I meant that he would have some classes in ENGLISH with English31. sorry...

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

If I was the OP I would get French tutoring for the child now don't do it yourself because it's to easy to take days off. If he has the basic's in verbal French then you have a better head start than most that move with kids but getting his grammar up to speed for the Brevet will be a push and he would probably leave college at least one if not two years latter than his peers of the same age just means being with different kids in Lycée if he's aiming for a BAC.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Start with CNED.

The ex-pat french kids here in Austin, TX use it to make sure their french is good enough to come back to France for university.

Especially good for mathematics and French.
http://www.academie-en-ligne.fr/default.aspx

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

You may want to consider getting British Citizenship before returning to France if not already done so - given the Brexit factor. It will make a return to the UK a lot easier if need be.

Re: French relocating with English husband near Toulouse hopefully in 2018
 

Thanks everyone! Have been away so apologies for replying only now. I am looking indeed at English31 and other schools around; the choice of school will of course highly depend on where we buy a house so more research needed. Thanks again to all for responding to my query so rapidly :)