Moving to Paris, advice needed with schools and where to live

[YOm4ma]

We're moving to Paris with DH's work (toward end of the year). I've started the search for affordable schools for my DC, aged 9 & 7. We have a relocation company assisting us, but nothing's better than the word on the ground.

We're mostly looking at bilingual options. Our first choice Ecole Jeannine Manuel is full (waiting to hear if they have places for Jan). We are considering EIB Victor Hugo.

We've been told about Eurecole - apart from a few posts a couple of years ago, positive and negative, I can't find out much about the school. Does anyone have any experience of Eurecole?

I have heard the Lycée in St Germain en Laye is v good, and v academic (not a bad thing). This too is an option. If we go for this, what is life like in StG?

How about EIB Monceau or Lamartine?

No idea about Eurecole, it didn't have a great reputation when we were there (we left two years ago) and wasn't on our approved list of schools. There is a new school in the 16th, I think, with a head who comes from one of the EIB schools, that might be worth a look?

Life in St Germain would be very nice, I would think, but it's not Paris, so you need to take that into consideration, whether you want to live in Paris itself or in a provincial town. (I'm not dissing it, it really is a lovely place, but it isn't Paris!)

Thanks MrsSchadenfreude do you happen to know the name of the school in the 16th?

Yes, it's Kingsworth, but it's only secondary, sorry. I assumed it went all the way through, like the other schools. There is also the Lennen School for primary, but not sure if it is bilingual.

Lycée International can be very hard work in primary, ferrying your DC between a French state primary and the Lycée site. Talk to Sarah Grégoire, the admissions person, who is very nice and helpful on the telephone.

Eurécole is trilingual - French, English, German. Is that what you want?

EIBVH does not have a great reputation for high academic standards.

EIB Monceau (better than Lamartine for bilingual DC) is great for DC in your position and is not full at present (very large school however).

I hear very mixed things about Eurecole. Franco- German and Anglo-German families seem to like it for primary (not college). I'm not sure it has much going for families who don't care about German and cannot support it.