Eurecole in Paris

[momfromparis]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering whether you could possibly give me feedback about EURECOLE in Paris. My spouse is very happy to consider it for our child (PS, maternelle) but I keep having doubts about it. It would be great to have some positive or negative input to see if we're making the right choice. Thanks a lot in advance!

It is supposed to be appalling. No first hand knowledge, but it is not on our list of approved schools. Someone on here used to teach there - they may be along in a minute to give you some more info.

Not recommended at all. Please don't send your child there!

Can you tell me more about appalling? I am looking into Eurecole for my 2 daughters, I would love any feedback. Thanks

Can you not look elsewhere? The standards are very low, and I think the fact that it is not on our approved list (which is pretty comprehensive) speaks volumes.

I've heard negatives about the standards educationally and pastorally, the amount of playground bullying and the teachers' attitudes towards parents and pupils. It doesn't sound like a happy place and not even because the pace is very hard and pressured IYSWIM.

I really wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. A state French monolingual school backed up by extra curricular and home English would be much better.

Fraktal: Thank you for the feedback. I don't quite understand your comments, about "pace is very hard and pressured IYSWIM.". Could you please elaborate?

I am looking for a school that has German, my daughters are fluent in German and English. Any ideas?

Is it really necessary to be educated in a language you are fluent in? There are millions of children around the world who are multi-lingual but who go to school in one language and speak another at home. Our children speak English at home, French at school, out 10 year old with just Reception class behind her in English, is able to read and write fluently in English, without any formal education in English, her daily education in French is enough for her to apply skills into her mother tongue. So a child who speaks English and German at home should manage fine in a French or French / English school, learning informally German at home or from a saturday school. As there is one single school in Paris which does French/English/German versus hundreds of schools in French and a dozen or so in French/English, you are really limiting your choice.

If you want German, there are the "sections internationales" in Sèvres.

The pace at Eurecole isn't, from what I've heard, hard or pressured. Some schools have a rep for being unhappy places because they're high pressure hothouses with pretty punishing pace. Not so here. Eurecole doesn't even have stellar academic results which would encourage people to use it - as others have said, standards are low.

If you are interested in primary school then I can't agree with any of the above. I've just shifted my daughter from a private Catholic school (Lubeck) to Eurecole and couldn't be happier. Contrary to what others have posted, I have found the academic standards to be considerably higher than at the Catholic school, not just in English and German (to be expected) but across the board, including in French and maths. It is sous-contrat so it's obliged to follow the French national curriculum in addition to all the other subjects it provides (Latin, algebra, sports, art history etc). Just because Eurecole doesn't make students remember every banal boring lesson by heart at night doesn't mean it is any less academically rigourous. At Eurecole they cover a lot more (in a lot more depth) in class than at regular French schools and the bright students are given extension work rather than told to read comics when they are finished. Classes are smaller (no more than 20) compared with over 30 in French schools. Zero tolerance to bullying at Eurecole whereas in French schools it is systemic and part of a rite of passage for all newcomers. At Eurecole the staff are cheerful, dedicated, approachable and helpful. They use encouragement and praise to get the best out of children. Regular French school staff are powerless, miserable and use punishment and humiliation to get children to work. Even aesthetically it is much more like an Anglo-Saxon school. The classrooms are clean and bright displaying children's work. Compare that to the average French school resembling some kind of Soviet office block that hasn't seen a lick of paint (or a broom) since the 1960s. Quite frankly, I can't fault the junior school. A lot of students don't go onto the college however, because it is located on the Champs-Elysees which parents don't like. But, after CM2, students seem to have no trouble getting into whatever college they like. One last point. The children at Eurecole are warm, friendly and extremely welcoming of newcomers. It is still a French school. I think the head quoted a statistic like 50% of children are French mother tongue but the international element means that there is a degree of tolerance and respect for others among the student body that just doesn't exist in French schools!

Hi PinPin1, wow it does seem as if Eurécole has turned itself around in the past year!

It would be more interesting though, to compare Eurécole to other bilingual schools around, rather than to the Catholic French school you came from.

I'm sure you are very happy with the school, and glad to hear the reasons why. Do most parents at Eurécole share your view?

You have quite a tainted view of French methods and "regular French school staff", if you don't mind me saying I don't see them as powerless (in some ways quite the contrary), and they are not all miserable and Victorian in their pedagogy! At my son's state school, rote learning is definitely a thing of the past... (except for poésie which is still learnt by heart in the early years literally they learn three pieces a year).

Though I am really glad to hear about your positive experience at Eurécole, your sweeping statements about French schools do not add to the credibility of your post...

Nothing to add for the OP, but I have to say that having worked in 12 different French schools as an intervenante I got a similar impression to PinPin1. That was 3 years ago, so things could have changed lots, but as a very experienced UK teacher over there, it was depressing.

My DD is at EaB Monceau and children regularly arrive from Eurécole because their parents were not happy with it, but I have never heard of a child leave EaB Monceau for Eurécole.

Eurécole manages to fail to teach (bright, engaged, privileged) DC to read in CP on a regular basis, which is quite a feat!

If you are thinking of Eurecole, please visit the school and talk to parents. Do not listen to this board and the bad comments. I was very wary of the school because of this board and the comments.

Frankly, if you want your child in an international environment, then Eurecole is a great choice.

The school has been wonderful for my two daughters (German/ English bilingual) (and now are speaking French), it is challenging, caring and wonderful teachers. It has very well rounded curriculum in everything. Bonsoir, I am glad you and your kids are at EAB...

Dont sens tour children in this school....

Horrible...

Hi - I recently went to visit the school and was very impressed. I can’t understand the level of negativity. I’m now very confused. Can someone with recent experience at the school let me know what they think? Thanks