DoubleDutch

Hello all,

We are hoping to move shortly to Toulouse and need to investigate the school situation for our 2 daughters. One is 10 and the other 13. We have heard that there is a bilingual school close to Toulouse -does anyone have any information regarding this and perhaps the International School there as well? ANY info on school (Bilingual, International, local etc)would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,

David

DoubleDutch

Hello -well I thought I would have been inundated with advice
44 views and no one has any advice on this?

Thanks I hope in advance!
David

Ka Ora!

Its not that people lack advice, Of pretty much all the members I know here Myself and a couple of others that are in or nr Toulouse but all use the French Mainstream schools which personally I think is better.

Children adapt quickly and IMHO local schools in France offer the best chances in the future for children here.



Its the week end as well.

Martin Parker

I think Ka Ora is right. Unlike certain other forums, where there are plenty of people who are happy to express their opinions, whether based on fact or not, it appears to me that people on this forum only tend to reply if they have useful info.

I live an hour from Toulouse and have no children, so can't really be of much help. There is a mums and tots group on the outskirts of Toulouse and although your children are too old, the members on there site may be able to offer some advice

Mums and Tots

DoubleDutch

Hello all,

And thanks for the opinions. My own thoughts are to put them straight into local French schools as this is by far the quickest route to integration but I read that their Fench has to be at a certain level for acceptance. They have had about 2 months of private tuition in French but are by no means proficient.

Are there indeed limitations on the entry to local schools in regards to this?

Many thanks,

David

Ka Ora!

I don't know where you read that but it's not true as far as im aware. Both of my children started on zero French. The biggest difference is if a child does not cut it on a yearly basis they don't go up a year. Keep them in the French books and tuition over the summer holidays, It might save them a year. I really think a Mainstream school would be better for especially if this move is aimed a being permanent.

dennerlymum

Hi there

I live in toulouse and know of the schools you are talking about as my eldest, also 13, attends the college.

It will be tricky to insert at the age of 13, but the college does offer support to new arrivals and the bonus is that there is an English section called English31 which will allow for insertion into french culture but with some contact with the english one still. The college is not private; it is a normal state college. It is called Victor Hugo in Colomiers,

TEL 05 61 15 92 22

Ask for the English section and the secretary will help all she can. She will also be able to help with your youngest, who depending on when he /she was 10 will either attend the college next year, or will attend the primary school, also in Colomiers, called Paul Bert.

As for the International school; which is next door, unless you are filthy rich, or have a contract for airbus that states that they will pay the fees, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. Generally for the reasons my other forumites have stated.

If you have any furfther questions on Toulouse, don't hesitate to contact me!
My daughter might also be willing to chat to yours to allay any fears she may have of you wish!
dennerlymum

DoubleDutch

WOW! that is brilliant! I will be in Toulouse on Thursday for last meeting with new company and hopefully that will be the start of it. We expect (all going well) that we will arrive before the end of summer. I would prefer that they go State School as the other options (never mind the cost) are not going to give the immersion that will be best for them.

Katherine has just turned 10 and Rachel has just turned 13. We will take you up on the offer and my wife who is Dutch will be in touch with a ton of questions,

Again many thanks.....

Best wishes,

David

dennerlymum

look forward to hearing from her!

dennerlymum

hope your visit went well today!

DoubleDutch

Hi, I'm David's wife,just heard from him.He's on his way home,very positive,but we won't know till next week Thank you so much for your information about the school,just what we were hoping for.
I do have a few more questions but will wait with asking you till I know for sure we're moving(I guess I'm a bit superstitious )
Much appreciated,talk to you soon

Hi I am the daughter(the oldest) I was just wondering if your daughter has MSN and if so would it be all right to exchange contacts, so maybe I could ask a few(well maybe a bit more than a few..) questions...thanks

dennerlymum

hi there
yes beth has MSN and I have a hotmail account
if you PM me with your email addresses, we would be happy to chat further


think I should have sent our addresses; if not PM me

kevlux

Does anyone have an up to date email contact for the British Section so I can make an initial enquiry about entry into English31 system at Paul Bert/Victor Hugo?

I stumbled across [email protected] on the web but not sure it is a good email contact - I have sent an email but no reply yet.

Many thanks

dennerlymum

The email address you have is good, but the school is about to close for the summer (tomorrow). You would be better calling them then as they are not sooo fast at replying to mails and they are very busy at the mo.
the number is in one of the earlier postings on this site

kevlux

Thanks for your reply. I missed the phone number in your earlier post - thanks for the pointer.

We are relocating to the area in a few months for 3-4 years; had originally considered that IST would be the logical solution for schooling my children, but after a visit last week I'm not convinced it's the best option (certainly in terms of value for money!), even for our relatively short relocation.

It is bad timing because, as you point out, the schools are now breaking for summer. I will call them at least to see what the possibilities are.

Thanks again.