StephieB

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and was hoping I would be able to get some advice please.

I am looking to move to Toulouse early next year to be with my partner who is currently working there. My main concern, and the only thing holding me back at the moment, is the concern of my son who is 7 and his schooling as neither of us speak any French.

I have heard many say that children pick up the language and settle in quickly however, I'm worried he would fall behind on his normal school learning with the language barrier to start with.

Can anyone advise me on the best schools in Toulouse? I would love for him to be able to go to the IST or even a bilingual school but I just don't think we would be able to afford it straight off and so would a french school is what we are looking for but with help for English children.

Thank you in advance.

Steph

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Others will come along with local info, but, in general, I would say that a 7-year-old will pick up French in no time. If you prefer, you could request that he goes into "C.P." when he arrives, which is the 1st year in Primaire when French 6-year-olds learn to read and write, and some time during the rest of his Primary years, he might be able to jump a year.
You must enrol him at the Mairie of the Commune where your partner lives, and, if the Commune is large, the Mairie will allocate the Primaire nearest to your domicile. Your partner should go along to ask what documents are required (birth certificate, vaccination book, justification of domicile....)
Apart from schooling, you should look into the question of your own healthcare coverage, i.e. whether you'd be covered by your partner's health insurance. You should also get your name on the rental lease or a utility bill - you'd be surprised how often you have to justify your domicile in France, and usually only rent receipts or recent utility bills are accepted, (not a mobile contract.)
Hope this helps!

EuroTrash

Yes, as DMU says, I agree that 7 is a pretty good age for most kids. They learn fast at that age, and they're old enough to have started developing self-confidence. It depends on the child of course, some are natural linguists and some aren't, and some are naturally more outgoing than others.
Presumably you come over to visit your partner so why not see if you can make an appointment to talk to the local school next time you're here. Hopefully they will help set your mind at rest.

In the meanwhile, do learn as much French as you can before you move. Your son will pick it up fast once he is surrounded by French kiddies all day, but you presumably will not be surrounded by French speakers all the time so you'll have to work on it more. It's important to be able to communicate with his teachers and all the various organisations you'll need to deal with - banks, CPAM, CAF, tax office etc - but also, so that you can make friends with other parents, talk to your son's friends if he wants to bring them home, take an interest in his school work and homework and stuff like that.

StephieB

Thank you for your replies!

My partner has gone to the Mairie today so thank you for that advance, hopefully they can help us and I can make an appointment once they allocate us a school

My son is starting French lessons next week so hopefully that will give him a little head start.
I will also try and learn as much as I can myself.

Thanks again!

petitefrancaise

I moved to Toulouse area when my eldest was 5.

She had already completed a year of nursery and reception in the UK and due to her age was placed in CP. She had already learned how to read/write/math in the UK so she had an easy year workwise to get her french up and running. This was brilliant. So, to echo previous advice, think about putting your son in the year below - I wouldn't go as far as CP though, for his age cohort he will probably be in CE2 so think about CE1. I would expect it to take a year before his French is approaching anything like what he will need to manage.

IST is expensive and to my mind, not worth it. It was set up for airbus families on 3 year contracts and the intake reflects it. They are not selective, if you can pay you are in and children who go there find it difficult to learn french (ie they don't). The syllabus is the UK one not french.

There is English 31 which kids go to on wednesday mornings/afternoons. This is an excellent programme which costs relatively little yet maintains your son's English level and hopefully will provide you with some company from other mums.

There may also be french language support provided by the school for him. Ecole Paul Bert does this in Colomiers, I'm not sure where else does it in the region.
This is an excellent resource for the area
AIT International Club | English-speaking ex-pats living and sharing the good life in Toulouse, France

StephieB

Hi Petitefrancaise,

Thank you for your reply.

I'm a little concerned about putting him in a year below as he is going to fall behind with what he should be learning in the year he's currently in?

I forgot to mention that the move isn't going to be permanent and possibly only for 2 years, give or take, as my partner is a sportsman and we will potentially be moving to Australia after this.

I therefore am not too concerned about how quickly he picks up the french in order to live there as it's not permanent but know he will need it for schooling. I'm so confused and don't really know what to do.

Tweedpipe

No need to be confused. Just listen and take heed of the advise given so far - it's excellent. They've done the same in the past (I have too), so can advise from actual Toulouse experience. Place your son in CE1. He will fit in with ease with his French, and with a little regular help at home with his English grammar, he will be ahead of the 'average' English kid of his age by the time you are ready to leave.

StephieB

Thank you Tweedpipe,

Is CE1 the equivalent to year 2 in the UK? He has just started the juniors (year 3).

Also, my partner went to the Mairie yesterday who told him I need to get a justificatif of domicile from my town hall here in the UK in order to register him for school in France. Is that right? I thought I would need the domicile from the Mairie in France?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just struggling to get my head around it all.

dmu

+1
Not realising that you weren't moving here forever more!
He'll be fine in CE1, and, as suggested, use his new knowledge of French Grammar to keep up his English Grammar for when he returns to "English" schooling. Also teach him English History at home! I gave my daughters our version of Jeanne d'Arc, Napoléon Bonaparte, etc... at home, so that they could judge for themselves!! Be warned that he'll find arithmetic odd at first, as they do their sums differently here. (I never did manage to convert to the French way and was no help to my daughters for their homework)

Tweedpipe

CE1 was always the equivalent of 3rd year primary, and I believe that is still the case.
I'm confused by the reaction of your local Mairie. It is they who would normally allocate a local school depending on your exact location (in France).
Perhaps others here more familiar with the current procedures may be able to clarify.

Tweedpipe

I gave my son the versions of Coluche, and Only Fools & Horses, and he's now as nutty as a fruit-cake in both French & English!

StephieB

Yes that is what I thought but they said I need proof of address from my town hall here which I thought was weird. My partner is going to go back and see what they say, hopefully they give a little more help this time.

Thank you

petitefrancaise

A 2 year sports contract? That'll be rugby??

If you put your child into a year full of new stuff to learn and not being proficient in french then he's going to struggle to put it mildly in a normal french school. I am not familiar with UK education now so you will need to listen to the others on how that will impact him when he returns. I'm thinking that he will go back to his normal year since french education is so good and he may have to work a bit but he should be fine.
For your son's sake and your sanity, please don't make this horrible assumption that kids just pick up the language and everything is hunkydory. Expect a struggle, expect a child who doesn't want to face another day of not getting what is not going on around him (would you?) and be prepared to support him as much as you possibly can.

In your circumstances, I would definitely, definitely recommend English31 for your son. Check out if the french language support is still available at Paul Bert or see if it has moved to the new english31 primaire. These schools will be perfect for him as not only will he have teachers experienced at dealing with anglophone kids who don't speak french, he will be around other english language kids as well as the french ones. His education will be the french one. The new english 31 primaire is pretty close to the rugby stadium too...

For a 2 year placement, imo, is the best for your son.

dmu

No, CE1 follows directly after C.P., i.e. 2nd year Primaire, when the pupils are normally 7 years old. (3rd year is CE2).
I'm also confused about the Mairie's requirement. In my day they needed justification of domicile in the Commune before enrolling in Primaire, and I believed it was still so. Just noticed OP's post - just before we moved down to our holiday home from the Paris Suburbs, the Mairie didn't require proof of domicile in the 92, just utility bills here.
(My girls were fans of Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous which we had on video-cassettes at the time, but as I myself had never seen Only Fools & Horses, I couldn't instruct them in such classics!

petitefrancaise

are you married or pacs?

You may need something to prove your address in France and if they are being a pain, then they may want it in your name if you aren't married or legally an umarried partner (pacs).
I am very surprised that they've asked for your address in the UK but this may be their way of dealing with you not having proof of address in France? They want to know that you are a legal citizen of the EU maybe?

One thing to realise about french bureaucracy is that it is never, ever straight forward. Just provide the mairie with what they ask for, do not question it and ONLY GIVE THE INFORMATION THEY ASK FOR! Do not volunteer anything extra.

If the proof of address from the UK is not what they need in the end to tick their little boxes, then ask them what they do want. Then provide that. Don't be surprised if you need several visits. You'll get there, just be patient and polite.