catchment areas and schools
 

Hi all, I'm new here, reading your posts very helpful. We are moving in the summer from Blighty to Charente or Deux-sevres... planning to rent for a year whilst we find sensible property. My question is about school catchment areas, I have two kids both of whom will be in elementaire by then, one will be 10 in September so if we rent for a year he will be near to age for moving on to college by time we eventually buy something. So, my question is what is the deal about school catchment areas ?.... I am thinking we should rent in a town with decent selection of colleges and build future life from said base... but, if we were to move say 20 miles from initial rental town, would my kids be able to carry on in the first school they attend???? Any experience of similar situation gratefully received.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
My daughters took the school bus to the nearest Collège/Lycée and I think the radius of the catchment area is less than 20 km, let alone miles!
It might be worth considering keeping your elder in Primaire an extra year to get his French together and get more used to the French Educational System before he gets thrown in at the deep end in Collège (which is a culture shock even for French pupils). This would give you more time to look around. There wouldn't be a problem of age difference, many French children stay down, esp. at the end of Primaire, there's no shame in it.
Primary schools are always in the Commune where you reside and, in a town, the Mairie designates which one. I doubt that the initial Primary school would accept to keep pupils who move away so far. But I may be mistaken....
Hope this helps!:)

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

okay, thanks for that, very helpful - since we are trying to mitigate against too many school moves maybe we will do a short term rental in summer and then get a better grip on the school catchments for colleges - do you know if there is a feeder school system (ie a bunch of primary schools where traditionally kids go to a college from) as in Uk? - and, if so who could tell me about this in the mairie? good advice re the extra year in elementaire we are already bearing this in mind in terms of timing - so much more complicated with winkles, eh! :thumbup: ha ha not that we need the sunglasses in manchester!

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

Hi there
I agree with DMU re the extra year in primary for your child; most particularly if they were born between Sept -Dec and thus would be young for their class in France where the cutoff is Dec 31/jan 1st.... however our May born daughter moved at that age and had no problems moving to college at the correct time...

Colleges do have a catchment with feeder primaries like in the uk; your Mairie would tell you more, or the college itself.

Good luck with the move:)

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

hi there - thanks for that, both kids born in September and therefore currently oldest in class in UK so the December cut off date very useful for them and something I didn't know. very helpful.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

therefore they will be in the class ahead in France; with children who reach their birthdays in Jan - sept... As I said, my son stayed back and although a little frustrating academically, it was by far the best decision for him emotionally:)

Your eldest would enter CM2 (year 6) on arrival by right of age; but may be happier in CM1 to allow for development of French skills; CM2 is essentially a consolidation of CM1, so he would have 2 years to meet the grade

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

ok, thanks for that - my eldest is quite academic and likes to do well so I think the staying back a year would be good for him confidence wise, the little one will definitely benefit from another year at the basics, though he might be emotionally frustrated ! Can I ask you if this is the parent's choice ie do I ask the school for a stay back or do the school have the the final say on the decision?

Thanks again for all help, much appreciated.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

in our case it was our choice; on, arrival the head gave us the choice; having taught as a primary teacher in the uk and crossed my legs to avoid having an August baby, it was somewhat frustrating to discover I had the equivalent here in France!!! Thus it was a relief to be offered the choice to stay back;

Once in the system, the school generally makes the choice, although parents can also have some say:)

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

ok. Sorry to bore with questions but can you shed light on extra support for 2nd language speakers? from what I can tell its a bit patchy (as here in UK) depending on how many 2nd language speakers in school.... am trying not to be too anxious about all this but in our case OH is the natural Francais speaker and he works away a lot so I will have to do most of educational support for kids. My own French is only OK so a limit to my helping ability on that one.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

I can't help directly with your question, but I did move to Germany many years ago with two kids. None of the four of us spoke the language. It took about 6 months for the kids to become more than functional: they, and everyday life, taught us.

I don't think you need overly worry.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

I agree here; my french was ok ish on arrival; The kids picked up enough to get by very quickly and then by the end of the first year were confident in class. Support in class is patchy but shouldnt particularly be necessary at the age of your two :)

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

Thanks all - much appreciated.:)

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

Hi Alicet,

Welcome :)

If I may just add, you may need to provide your school or CdC with a signed rental agreement before they will grant your kids any places. Therefore, its important that your rental arrangements are 'legit' which in-turn means that your Landlord will have to notify the authorities that they are in receipt of income from your rent. Naturally, some holiday home Landlords may wish to avoid this as it means they'll be taxed as a result.

There are also a few other things to consider; such as BCG innoculations which aren't given out so much in the UK these days but are usually compulsory in France. Additionally, you will need to have your children insured incase they injure themselves or other children.

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

oh my words... useful stuff re what makes you resident , thanks for that tip, but what is this about insurance ? what kind of insurance? and what is the rationale for this? public liability insurance is a provider not participant issue in Blightey, please enlighten me here/or cross refer me to relevant posts if you can....Thanks

Re: catchment areas and schools
 

Hi, it's compulsory and it's the school that gives a choice of several dedicated insurances when you first enrol. If I remember rightly, mine were insured with MAE and they were covered for all school activities, including outings, "classes vertes", etc... If you choose a 365-day contract, all out-of-school activities and sports are also covered (but you'll need a Doctor's certificate for out-of-school sports clubs).
Ask the school when you enrol, you can't do it beforehand...
:)