GS or CP? (French Mneters please!)

[slinkyboo]

Quick poll of any opinions - DD is 5.7 and a highly able, free reader. We have the choice of putting her into Grand Section or CP when we move to France shortly. Age-wise she ought to be in GS but I'm aware they are just beginning to learn to read, phonics etc which is pointless for her. Perhaps she could spend that time on her French instead...

We have an apppointment to see the Head next week so we'll discuss it then; I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts. Thanks.

PS her writing is good too, and we're not sure of her maths as they have done so little in her English school!

can she speak French?
How long are you likely to be in France for?

My dd is 5.10 and so is in CP (one of the youngest). If your dd starts in CP she won't be that much younger than the others.

The French system is a bit out of sync with the British one at that age and in fact it is only in CP that they really start phonics etc. In GS they will be learning the alphabet, how to count to 30, how to use the numbers up to 10, and then they do masses and masses of work on hand writing, drawing loops and swirls etc.

My dd can read a very little bit (she can recognise simple words in French and English, and she has got the hang of putting sounds together to make words, but she hasn't learnt all the phonics by any means. I think she is at the top end of her class with regards to reading, and all the children in her class are able. (and she is in CP).

On the other hand because they start so late, they learn fairly quickly, so by Christmas all the children in the class should be reading fairly well.

So for reading, I think your dd would probably be better off in CP.

But then it all depends on other things too, like her general maturity (for coping in a class where all the children are older than her), her level of French, whether you are going to be back in Britain soon or whether you are staying in France long term, and the general ability of the other children in the school.

Bear in mind also that although the teacher may not expect the children to be able to read or spell, he may expect her to be able to do fancy French joined up writing.

hth

TBH Slinky - French school culture is very different than school in UK. Even if she is a complete academic whizz I would pop her into GS to give her a chance to get used to the different day to day expectations and attitudes to various aspects of school life.

When she hits CP the year after she will be savvy enough with the different ambience to focus on her learning and achieve her full potential in reading and writing in French.

I must take the time to post in your "what to do in Paris" thread. I have rather a long list because I live in the Western 'burbs of Paris and have a dd around the same age as your girls. There simply don't seem to be enough hours in the day lately!

IF your child cannot speak French, GS.
It doesn't matter if your child can already read and write in English. Our daughter had 2 years and was a fluent reader already, ahead of the rest of her class in the UK. The only advantage that has given her in the long run is that I do not need to teach her to read and write in English. Her ability in English did not really help at all. I am glad I didn't ask her to be pushed up a year, she is already almost 2 years younger than other children in her class as she is youngest in the class and some children who have doubled were the eldest in theirs, meaning 23 months older. If she had been put up a year against children of similar IQ, she could have been 35 months younger than the eldest in the class.

Assuming no French and no prior experience of French educational norms GS.

Even CP from GS would be a shock to the system. Plus the maths that my charge was doing in CP required a solid base in numeracy so if her maths is at all weak the revision would be good.

French phonics are different to english ones too. Plus she will need to learn a different style of handwriting and the fine motor skills lessons she gets in GS will help with that.

Most of the anglophone/home-bilingual children at EABJM were reading in English by CP anyway. They still had to 'learn' to read in French so if she's monolingual and well ahead in her reading she can focus on the French.

If she's already bilingual and reading in French then CP.

If you've missed the beginning of the school year and your daughter doesn't speak French go for GS - it'll help her make her transition, start doing French sounds and the loopy writing they do here. At the beginning of CP as far as I can remember they revise the sounds and the alphabet pretty quickly at the beginning of term and begin reading and she'll have missed this. My kids have done all their schooling here and were already reading in English when they went into CP but the French approach is so different - much more grammar focused. It may be gentler for her to go into GS. Also be guided by your Headmistress.

Good luck.

Thank you all very much. I am definitely leaning towards GS and I'm just praying that there is a space for her as originally we had her down for CP. I should have mentioned that the school is a bilingual school, but no, she does not speak or write French. My biggest concern is that she is eased in gently, as so much will be new what with our move etc, and I agrre with hatty that GS would be gentler. A year of (hopefully) enjoying school and doing well, rather than potentially struggling, is what I'm after.

While I'm here, could someone explain the ages of differnt classes in France? I have heard that classes run Jan-Dec according to age...so a Feb 2005 birthday like DD puts her in GS, to start CP next September...correct? And she'd be in the same class as a Dec 2005 child?

Teafortwo - please do recommend some places on the other thread if you can! My DD is 5 (as you've prob gathered by now) and DS is 3.

I'm intrigued by the 'loopy' handwriting, btw!

bump for info on school ages

Slinky - your understanding is correct for ages - they run from Jan to December - so all those who turn 5 in the same calendar year will be in the same class. Your daughter by my calculations is the right age for GS so go for that - she'll be with her age group.

The handwriting looks like how my mother writes and involves lots of practise (they start joined up writing immediately in CP) but in GS the do the letters individually.

Many thanks...GS it is. As long as they have a space for her

I agree GS would be a better place to start. There is always the opportunity for her to skip a year later on if she is a real whizz, but CP is one of the most important years in the school life, it needs to be done right and for that she needs to speak french.