Live in France? Join us for a gentil thread

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

So how about a lovely supportive, information sharing thread for us mumsnetters living in France?
I've been here for two years, this is my second time living here so 4 years in total.
I have my moans about France, the paperwork, the driving but other than that I love it

Hi there, I'm v. interested in the OIB debate too - Bonsoir I think your DD is the same age as our DS1 (CM1) which I guess is why you are looking at it (as are we).

We are "lucky" in that our nearest big town does have an International Section (in a private school which doesn't cost much) but I am still hesitant about sending DS there (and subsequently DS2).

It will mean much more travelling, cutting him off from his current friends in the village. We have also heard mixed reports about the actual standard of English in the classes where there are actually very few "real" bilingual children, and where some of the teachers are less qualified than those in the public sector.

I'm very interested in the perspective of the bac in general - getting better marks.

It's true that several friends have bilingual children who just went to "good" local schools and they have alll done very well now and several work abroad for example. They did all do their HE in France though.

Just re-reading the messages and see you are leaning towards a "normal" bac Bonsoir.

Do you feel your DD has a decent level of written English? DS1 is devouring English books at the moment but has very little idea how to write in English - I'm sure I could be doing more with him myself but to be honest I feel he has enough work to do.

Yes, my DD is in CM1 and here in Paris applications for 6eme are very competitive and open in the September one year ahead if entry, so I need to work out my strategy this year.

Our catchment state college is a no-go zone so either DD can carry on at her current school (which is "bilingual" and does offer quite reasonable provision of English in primary and college) or try something else. The problem with that scenario is that I really wouldn't want her to go to Lycée at her current school. I'm thinking that she should probably go to her brothers' school by Seconde at the latest, which is a normal French Catholic school. We were super happy with DSS1's Terminale teaching and bac results and he is now at a very good UK university reading a very competitive subject so certainly wasn't hindered by his lack of OIB.

Bonsoir - if your DD is in CM1 how can you know now that she will be doing a Bac S? Is her primary interest in science? Will her interests not change or develop? Sorry if I have mis-understood earlier information.

She'll definitely do Bac S - like all our family she is very good at Maths! And S doesn't close doors in the way ES and L do. Quite a few schools don't offer L anymore.

jamaisjedors - there is definitely an issue in many Sections Internationales of standards of English - pupils who are not native speakers and teachers who are not all that, IYSWIM. Obviously that needs to be investigated and ascertained on a case by case basis. If you live next to the Lycée International in Saint Germain that is a fantastic choice but realistically most Sections Internationales are not offering education or indeed pupils of that standard.

Mine are all doing the OIB at the Lycee Inter, St Germain - they love it there - but there is a big workload. My eldest DD though said that the English courses were like a "breath of fresh air" and she wouldn't want to be doing a normal bac S for anything.

hattymattie - my impression from talking to DCs at the Lycée International is always that the French part is a lot less agreeable than the international part.

Bonsoir sounds about right. I think the trouble is they get to compare great quality UK or in my case American style teaching with the French system. In a normal Lycee they wouldn't know anything else.

I'm sure that's true in the case of the Lycée . I'm just not sure that it is a universal fact of Sections Internationales. And, of course, I also don't know (because how could one compare) whether the French side of the Lycée International is more or less agreeable than, say, my DSSs really quite nice (private Catholic) French lycée.

I have a very dim view of "normal" French state lycées, by the way!

"She'll definitely do Bac S - like all our family she is very good at Maths! And S doesn't close doors in the way ES and L do"

IMO It seems very sad to decide what she's doing at such an early age - what if she has no interest in doing maths. She may be good at it, but that doesn't mean it will interest and inspire her.

BAC S does close the door at seconde to many options such as art, music or other humanities subjects.

I suppose you are doing what is right for your family though - so good luck and best wishes

Bac S doesn't close any doors in Seconde - Seconde is common to L, ES and S. And you can do an option in music or art in S just as you can in L and ES. S does not close doors to humanities - however, L and ES close the doors to sciences. Which is why S is the most popular option.

I'd disagree that a Bac S closes door if activities in the area of interest are provided on an extra-curricular basis. I've taught students doing English at university with a Bac S, I have a student in my classe preparatoire at an ecole de beaux arts this year with a Bac S, DH has 2 cousins who went to conservatoire with a Bac S.... On the other hand I never met a student midwife or engineer with a Bac L or even ES.

It might take a bit of dedication but you don't necessarily need to be stunningly good at maths or science to get a good grade, just reasonably intelligent and a good worker.

Besides if bonsoir can already see her DD is good at maths and her interests are likely to lie that way and it's considered the optimum path in France then why not work towards that already.

The daughter of a friend of mine is currently in Terminale S at an excellent lycée in the Paris suburbs. She is doing Modern Greek and Art as her options. She is going to do medicine at university.

Hope it is OK to change the subject for a moment...
I am interested to know how socially conservative you find France to be? When I go back to my gym class in September, nothing changes; same people, same music, same exercises. When we go out for a meal, either in a restaurant or at someone's home, the menu revolves around the same half dozen dishes. In the village, pudding is always apple crumble or tergoule.
Now I know we are older, retired, living in deepest rural Normandy, so I wondered if younger people, living in towns or cities have a very different view? Our village events are always exactly the same (though each one has a long planning meeting) and at the summer event the same meal is served to the same people at lunch and and again at dinner.
If it is the same for you, do you mind or is it all part of the charm?

EmilyAlice - I agree with you - lifestyle innovation is not a big trend in France . I live in a central and affluent part of Paris and DD goes to a school with a big international contingent and we travel quite a bit and go out in Paris, so I do get my fill of innovation. But it is not the norm and even where I live people quickly get stuck in their ways.

That is really interesting. You know last night when they were choosing menus for the gym club dinner and getting excited over pork in cider or veal with mushrooms, I had an almost irresistible urge to say, can we have chicken tikka masala? We could have tergoule and mango chutney on the side...

I find individual French people quite open to change, even out here, but the menus at the various annual village events are the same year on year.

Er well - we do have apple crumble here nearly every Sunday . It appears I can't get enough of the stuff.

I wouldn't dare ask for chicken tikka masala the French make a monumental cock up of any Indian food. My MIL wanted to surprise me back in the days she liked me by doing a curry.

I sat there forcing this bland chicken snd rice dish while she was looking at me expectantly. Do you like the curry? she ended up saying.

I had to pretend to love it. DH was practically crying with suppressed laughter.

Absolutely know what you mean, Emily, and it does get annoying that each région sticks resolutely to its same dishes. MIL in deepest darkest Bourgogne serves the same 4 meals over and over again....chicken can only come from Bresse etc etc. Boring!

Weirdly although we're in the very socially conservation (read, Catholic and 'good family') military I find my French friends quite open to different ways of doing things and dishes. Most embrace wholeheartedly the local dishes, for example, and when they move on keep what they like and discard what they don't. I suppose moving around gives you a certain exposure to different ideas!

I do find them less innovative in other ways, but that is probably related to the general stability of French society.

Hmm. The pride in their heritage and local produce is possibly why France would still be able to be self sufficient if, for example, some volcano cloud prevented imports. Which isn't the case in the UK.

But I'd gues your MIL isn't necessarily confident cooking and may just want to stay in her comfort zone.

Oh I don't doubt the self-sufficiency aspect. We get snowed in most winters in our village (for a few days), but you can see that having dairy produce and meat on the hoof, cider and calva and frozen or bottled veg would keep you going. The one thing they run out of is bread, so we keep masses of flour and make it in our bread oven.
Tonight we are making pizza and Ethiopian spice bread and I know we will get lots of comments about the smell from the chimney wafting round the hamlet.

Absolutely, but I do like to have a little giggle to myself when I'm presented with one-of-a-kind regional "specialities" like raifort (um, it's horseradish sauce) or tarte flambée (Alsacian pizza, hardly revolutionary!)