Schools in west Paris suburbs

[PaulaAnne]

Hi there,

My 3 kids ( aged 7 and twins at 4) have been at The British School of Paris since Oct 2010, which we are very happy with...they settled in well and enjoy it immensely, however as my husband is employed by a French company on a French contract they do not pay the fees, which are extremely high and about to increase further when the twin enter full time education next year. This coupled with the fact that we are now thinking this will be a long term move is prompting me to consider bilingual, or possibly even French schools in the area ( we are in Croissy sur Seine). I wondered if you had any information/ recommendations/ could put me in touch with people who had experience with this? At the moment we are particularly considering the Lycee International British Section in Saint Germain and Ermitage International School of France in Maisons Lafitte

If you hang around after drop-off on Tues and Weds there is a baby/toddler music group at BSP (in Early years activity room). There are friendly parents there who have older children in assorted other schools, maybe they could help?
I go on Tues and someone else you know goes on Weds so we could introduce you!

One of the Year 2 teachers at the BSP used to teach at the Lycee in St Germain, I know she would be happy to give you an honest opinion. I think you would need to act quickly though if you are thinking of the Lycee for the next academic year as some parents have already submitted their letters of recommendation.

There's a French Catholic school in Le Vésinet "sous convention" with Croissy-sur-Seine which has fees according to parental income at a max of 1300 euro per year at primaire, this school goes all the way to lycée and it's BAC results in 2011 were in the top 3% nationally, higher than the lycée International de St Germain-en-Laye whose results were in the top 9% nationally. having said that, I bet it's not so easy to get a place in this school too.

What about Ecole Perceval in Chatou (Steiner school) or Institut Notre Dame in Saint Germain (private catholic c. 250-300 per term with bilingual section). neither school fully bilingual but slightly "alternative" popular with expats therefore used to dealing with "foreign" kids.

You can search all schools in your area, public and private, which are "sous contrat" using this website.
[[http://www.education.gouv.fr/pid24301/annuaire-accueil-recherche.html]

Hi there, I can appreciate your dilemma and it must be hard to leave the British School which fully deserves its excellent reputation. I would not think twice about investigating places at the Lycée International, which from personal experience I can thoroughly recommend for motivated, smart kids. There is an entrance "exam", actually the process is quite informal and not as intimidating as people make it sound, and your children do not need to be Einsteins to get in. Also as Brioche Dorée says, Notre Dame is a great alternative for you. Don't know much about the Perceval place, but living here I have heard nothing negative either. Wish I could say the same about Ermitage which I would advise you to avoid for reasons too numerous to go into on here. Best of luck,

Thanks all... Appreciate the feedback, though still no idea what to do... Perhaps should just ditch all the luxuries and keep them where they are!

PaulaAnne, I think it would depend on whether you have a spare 50k per year for the next few years and what the chances are of keeping a job which sustains this level of income? It's an awful lot of money, even for those on high incomes. A private "sous contrat" school in Paris costs between 1k and 5k per year, so you are looking at hugely differing costs. Even a stage boarding school in the UK costs as little as 10k per year - yes your children are still too young to board in the UK but using it to illustrate you could get an English education at substantially below the cost of BSP fees. Also, if you are the Paris area long term, is it not a huge disadvantage to not integrate and speak French fluently and be in a school where many children are only there temporarily and friendships are so often made, just to have to say goodbye? Well maybe I'm biased a little.

Yes, it's a frightening financial commitment, which is what prompted the exploring of other options... We have a spreadsheet to compare all the financial implicatiions of everything from the status quo to returning to the uk and everything in between! I am perhaps even more concerned with the emotional side of things... As somebody that moved schools a lot myself, and came to hate that, I am perhaps too nervous about moving the kids again so soon... And i worry that my son in particular would not cope with the extra work of being immersed in a French school though I agree that the long term benefits are considerable... I am hearing a lot of negative feedback about Ermitage and that has put me off somewhat... Need to check out some of the others options further.
Thanks again guys.

From BSP into straight French (public) school might be tough. Bilingual is a good option, working towards the Britisih Section OIB which is an excellent passport to universities in the UK and France. I know that is looking many years down the line for you, but you only keep your options open by planning that far ahead sometimes!

For bilingual options the Lycée International is a great school.

Some "sous contrat" privates are much more expensive, natation, surprisingly enough, though I would agree that the figures you give are the norm. But Ermitage for example is much higher, depending on the programme you choose it can be around 13,000 in the higher years, with big hoiks each new school year, and so many unannounced or glossed-over "additional extras" (that are hardly optional) to keep up the financial squeeze.

Bear in mind bilingual syllabus puts extra demands on the kids and that transition from there back to straight French is difficult (something has to give and it tends to be French history, sciences and literature in the bilingual schools).

I would be less swayed by the consideration of whether your children's classmates will be staying for the long term or not, when it comes to international or bilingual schools. Many families are there for the long run, and even if your best buddy moves on, it can be quite positive (possibility to keep in touch via FB/email, or even get together during school holidays in their native country/new posting -- my kids have benefited culturally from this scenario and improved their third language to boot).

Naturally we can't give you the answer though! Just some things to consider...

Sorry, cross posted a bit. I feel for you, one tends to stress about these decisions quite a lot! I have personal experience of a few schools including Lycée International, so if you would like to pm me I would be happy to swap notes in detail.

I also agree the noise on Ermitage is too great to ignore right now. Sorry if that adds to your stress! Many kids are happy there but it does tend to send parents round the bend. The main problem there is that the owner is also the Headmaster, there is no parents' association and no board of governors, so no checks and balances. Many parents feel that profitability and other expedients come first, not the children nor their education. Yet classrooms are chocka so something is going OK... they have a huge local population of expats plus aspring internationally-minded French parents who like having their younger kids in a bilingual school.

Do pm if you want more insider info about Lycée International.

There are lots of French-English bilingual, sous-contrat schools in Ile-de-France: Lycée International but also Sections Internationales de Sèvres, Fontainebleau, EABJM, EAB, Honoré de Balzac (secondary). If I were you I would investigate them all as you will then make an informed choice, whatever you do.

It's been a while, and a lot of research, but we have found a solution... the girls have been offered a place in the Grande Section class at the Lycée Intl British Section based in Ecole Maternelle Jehan Alain in Le Pecq which doesn't even involve me in transferring them from an externe school to the Lycée site for their English work as the teachers go to there. DS will stay where he is at BSP for at least another year then we'll see.... he's still getting the extra help to catch up their and it turns out it's his teacher who is ex Lycée.. she doesnt think he is suited to the Lycée but we're not ruling it out in the long run if all goes well this year. Thanks for all your helpful posts! If anybody knows of anybody else who is joining the Grande Section British Section class at Maternelle Jehan Alain let me know... would be great to let girls meet some classmates over the Summer...

Hi, my daughter is going for an test at the lycée international for a place in maternelle 3. Does anyone have an idea of the requirements as her place will depend on the results. Thanks a lot