In need of advice on schools in Paris?

[SylviaDalberto]

Hello everyone,
We are planning on moving to paris to join my husband and I am looking for schools. So far, we have applied at St Germaine-en-laye and kids will be sitting the tests now in March. I was advices by the school twice that I need to have 2nd and 3rd options and i understand they may be quite selective. Right now, I don't have other options. We pay ourselves so looking at something reasonable. Kids have always been in an English school, however, older speaks one 4 languages and is grade 5 now (we are a multilingual family) and little one 2 but English is his primary (grade 2 currently).
The only other school option I have is the Canadian Bilingual School of Paris but I cannot find any reviews/comments on it online. It is a relatively new school in Paris and they offer scholarship support.
Please if you have any suggestions about schools I should look at or know anything about the Canadian school, please let me know.

Thank you

P.S. Once we have sorted out the school we will look at most convenient place to live

[paap1975]

The International Lycée in St Germain en Laye is excellent, so hopefully they'll get in there. How about the British School of Paris as an alternative?

[SylviaDalberto]

Hello paap1975, we looked at the British School as they are currently attending one but a third of the price in Paris. I'm afraid BIS is expensive for us. I pray they get accepted as I am completely lost :-)

[Nlds]

Si sevres, si la Celle saint cloud, si buc etc. Don't just apply for saint Germain en laye because it's the most well known of sections internationales.

[SylviaDalberto]

Thank you Nids

[SylviaDalberto]

In addition to above request, I am looking for any inside, quality of education, French/English balance, info on:

Anglophone Section Fontainebleau
Ermitage International School

Thank you

[sunshinesupermum]

St Germain-en-Laye is a lovely place to live. Most envious! Good luck with the schooling.

[SylviaDalberto]

Thank you Sunshinesupermum, honestly I haven't even started thinking about living. Right now, I'm drowning in schools

[Nlds]

Again only asking about the most well known sections internationales, you should look at more and know many have already closed enrolments.

[Nlds]

Sections Internationales are here.
www.education.gouv.fr/cid22541/les-sections-internationales-a-l-ecole-primaire.html#Sections_britanniques

[SylviaDalberto]

@Nlds Thank you fro the link. Will investigate

[LillianGish]

How old are your kids? Do they speak French? How long are you planning to be in Paris?

[SylviaDalberto]

Hi @lillianGish, thanks for following up. Stay would be 3 to 5years, depending on my husband's job. Kids are 10 and 7, September they'll be 11 and 8

[SylviaDalberto]

We're a multilingual family and older one speaks 4 languages, however, French is conversational as we spend summer down South. Younger one I'd like to believe he understands but doesn't speak anything past Bonjour and Ca va

[LillianGish]

Tricky one. The problem is most English sections are within French schools - ie everything apart from English is in French (if that makes sense). Fontainebleau is great (I have a friend whose daughter went there - though to be fair she had been French educated all her life), but it is miles outside Paris. It depends where your DH works as to whether that might work for you. Otherwise you are paying big fees for somewhere like the British School or Kingsworth International (don't really recommend, though do know at least one excellent teacher there). I don't know anything about the Canadian International School. To be honest, I think it's very difficult to find reasonably priced schools in Paris if your children don't speak French - and are not at an age where you can't just chuck them in at the deep end in the local maternelle for fast immersion. There used to be an extremely knowledgable poster on here called Bonsoir who was the font of all knowledge re Paris schools, but she has disappeared.

[BurneyFanny]

A number of Paris public (i.e. state) schools have sections for kids that speak other languages. Your best bet would be to join the FB group English-speaking mums / moms in Paris which will tell you everything you need to know about schools.

[LillianGish]

But that’s my point, those schools are essentially French schools with a native English stream for English lessons. Everything else is in French (my DC’s are in such a school - fabulous English section, but no good to anyone who doesn’t already speak French). I think it’s also worth pointing out that the French system can feel fairly brutal to those who have grown up in the English system - even without any language difficulties. The fact is, it’s hard if you arrive with older kids and can’t afford the very expensive English language schools.

[BurneyFanny]

Lilian I am talking about schools with classes for élèves allophones that deal specifically with children with little to no French. Admittedly most kids I them are from Africa or The Middle East or EasternEurope etc but it might be worth looking at.

[LillianGish]

I must admit I hadn't really thought of that BurneyFanny (great name by the way ) I thought as the OP was only planning to be in France for a few years she would be looking for a school where she can keep her DCs English up to scratch for a possible return to the UK (that's always been my challenge - keeping the door open although in fact in many ways my DCs are now more French than English though DD will hopefully be heading to the UK for uni in September). It's tough - bilingualism looks so easy from the outside, but requires a lot of effort and juggling to keep both languages up to scratch.

[mslulukat]

Other English-speaking schools you can consider in Paris intra-muros are the International School of Paris and the EIB-Victor Hugo. Both with pretty hefty fees though.

[BurneyFanny]

This is a lovely little film about les cours pour élèves allophones:

[SylviaDalberto]

@LillianGish, @BurneyFanny, @mslulukat Hello Ladies, thank you so much for the tips, leads and the whole discussion. As you can imagine, I am more concerned about my daughter as she's on to grade 6 and overall, is a slow learner. The British system has helped a great deal but from all I read on the French, they are not very supportive of slow learners. We are also looking at the cost and most international schools are way out of our budget. So far, we have Lycée International at St Germaine en Laye (kids have test dates in March), I have also asked for a visit to Ermitage, looking at LabSchool too. I liked Fontainebleau but quite far for my husband and he prefers that as a last resort :-). We will definitely give this move a try as its the first time in 4 years that my husband is based in a city with actual schools and we can live as a family again. I've come across Bonsoir's comments and also, MariaNovella who's also very knowledgable but unfortunately, I can't reach either. I am also a member of the English speaking mum's group and have above leads from there.
Once again, thank you all for everything ...my sleepless nights have definitely reduced :-)

[BurneyFanny]

You could also join Message Paris, which is a support group for mums. Membership isn't free but it's not a huge cost. They will have all the up to date info on schools. There are loads of new bilingual primaries opening up all over town, and some state schools with classes in English are being trialled. Secondary is more of an issue, I think.

[LillianGish]

but from all I read on the French, they are not very supportive of slow learners This with knobs on.

[monkey222]

Hello, since you all seem so knowledgeable can I also ask your advice?
We are a bilingual family (French dad, English mum) moving to Paris soon with our 2 year old who will be ready for maternelle Sep 21. She has and will have plenty of exposure to both languages. We might bring our daughter back to London for secondary school, or stay in Paris.
We are looking at Western Suburbs (anywhere from Neuilly out to St Germain en Laye, but not Versailles) or just possibly 7eme.
We want to live somewhere with good options for schools. Our priority is to find schools where she is stretched but happy and well-rounded, including so she could take entrance exams to return to a selective senior school in London if necessary. Bonus if the school helps with bilingualism but not at the expense of a good education and space to be well-rounded/extracurricular etc. Prefer to find a social group of long-timers in Paris than high turnover.
What would be your advice - where to live and what schools to target (including where to start at maternelle)?
Thanks a million

[SylviaDalberto]

monkey222 hello, though I can't help with info and suggestions on maternelle, I wanted to suggest you join the English Speaking Mums in Paris group on Facebook. A number of the mums live in the areas you mention and would definitely have ideas re schools. All the best