L'Ermitage school Paris, What is it really like?

[inuite]

I have just been told that we are moving to Paris over the summer and i am frantically looking for a Lycée for my DC. Lycée St Germain (British Section) have no places but they suggested asking at L'Ermitage. My DC should enter Premier "S" in September. She has been at the Lycée in London for the past 3 years so language is no problem.
I have heard rumours that the L'Ermitage is doubtful in terms of student behaviour ( drugs, etc) but have no real knowledge. Any first hand experience would be gratefully received.

No experience I'm afraid but there are quite a few threads on L'Ermitage - some of them recent, but none of them glowing! Here are some of them:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/1306446-Bilingual-Secondary-schools-in-Paris

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/1403823-Schools-in-west-Paris-suburbs

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/680348-advice-on-west-of-paris-schools

Just find a local college, state or Catholic. You can even check brevet results on the web. There are plenty of high performing ones in Paris and surrounding departements. They are also cheaper than l'Ermitage.

Hi there, plenty of first hand experience over 5 years (three kids at the school, gradually extracted them all thank goodness!). PM me for specifics, but drugs (and I have only heard of the one incident) would seem to be the least of your worries at Ermitage.

Gosh, inuite, poor you to be moving so quickly. I second what others say and you shouldn't touch l'Ermitage with a barge pole.

natation - the OP is looking for a lycée, not a collège. You cannot "just find a local one" - while a place at a state catchment maternelle, primaire or collège is always guaranteed, entry to lycée is always "sur dossier" and no lycée has to take anyone at all...

OP - your best bet will be a private (Catholic) lycée at this point. Why don't you look at the Paris lycée rankings in the Express or Figaro and call round, starting from the top? Some of the Catholic lycées are nicer than others and more receptive to international families. You can PM me if you want more info.

Sorry, i wasn't sure what the school year was, I'm guessing "1ere" is the year and not 1st sec ("6e"). The lycée Francais in London has a maternelle, primaire, college and lycée, I'm well aware of that. I still say just go and research all the lycées in Paris and surrounds, as you say, their BAC results are also available on the internet and many have international sections, there's more than St Germain.

"Première" is the second year of the three-year lycée - the first year is Seconde and the last year is Terminale.

The jargon terminology of the naming of French school years is loopy, so you are entirely forgiven for not knowing it, natation!

Bac results are not widely available on the internet and in any case are a poor indicator of a school's ability to teach your child. Many schools get rid of a fair number of pupils during the lycée years in order to boost their results profile. For example, in DSS1's (excellent, kind-and-caring) lycée there are 31 spots in Première S but only 24 in Terminale S...

Hi again inuite, just to be clear, I assume your DC is preparing the OIB as opposed to the straight Bac? This narrows down your choices but you will still have some good quality to choose from.

Are you quite flexible about where you want to live? Where is your hubby's office?

Hello, just wondering how things may have improved these days at Ermitage? Does anyone have any insights?