Anyone applying for the Lycee Charles de Gaulle school(s) in 2016?

[Boobz]

Either for next academic year (Sept 2016), or who has recently navigated the system and might be able to help a first timer?

I have 3 DC at an AEFE school in Rome (Lycee Chateaubriand) and next year we hope they will start with the Moyenne/CP and CE1 sections of the Lycee South Kensington primary school site in London.

I am currently reading all the admissions procedures and have spoken to the admissions sec at the South Ken site, but was hoping I might be able to garner some more info/advice from those doing the same thing, or who have recently done this?

Am posting in Bilingualism Topic as well, as I'm not sure where is better for this thread.

Boobz. Good luck in getting a spot at CdG - it is virtually impossible to get a spot in the early years (pre Lycée), if you do not currently have a sibling there. I am not saying it is not impossible (we did have a spot in maternelle which we turned down, but we only were given it due to a horrible, verging on illegal, experience at an ecole homologue). You will most likely be given the option of the new school in Wembley or the school in Kilburn.

Thanks for replying Mominatrix (love the name!) - can I ask what happened for you to get the Maternelle spot?!

When you say "the new school in Wembley or Kilburn", do you mean the Lycee International Winston Churchill and Collège Français Bilingue de Londres respectively? Can you explain a bit about how you understand the admissions process working with the Lycee Charles de Gaulle sites (South Kensington, Wix, Marie d'Orliac and André Malrauxand) and the 2 you mention above?

For example I know if I apply to the Lycee CDG, I have to choose one site (and we will select the South Kensington site) and cannot state a second or third place... and then if there isn't room for us at the South Ken site, but there IS at one of the other 3 CDG sites, they will offer one of those instead... but what I'm not sure of, is if we also apply to the Wembley/CFBL schools, and are offered a place at one of those BEFORE the "admission campaigns" are finished at the 4 CDG sites, are we essentially removing ourselves from their (the CDG) process?

Also, does the sibling rule only kick in from the following year? If I get one child in, does that get my other 2 in with the sibling rule, or is it like the UK state primary system which means it's only after the child starts school that the sibling rule kicks in?

Where did your kids end up going?

Thanks for any and all info!

BUMP

Hello Boobz. I'd rather not go into specifics regarding what happened to us which resulted in us being offered a spot at CdG, but I will say that it had to do with extremely heavy handed tactics by the head of the other maternelle - something along the lines of my school, my policies and I don't care what you think as I will do as I like. She is no longer in charge of the school, and many people had issues with her.

In terms of application process, it has been a while since we went through it, and the two satellite schools (Wembley and Kilburn) did not exist so I would ask the schools those questions as I do not want to lead you down the wrong path.

The sibling rule starts once your child starts the school.

With my eldest, we turned down the spot at CdG and switched him into the English private system - the best move we made for him. We knew that if we kept him in the French system, he would not have been considered a promising student as he is quirky, extremely curious and likes to go on tangents to the topic at hand and, when younger, would not have "towed the line" which is necessary to do well in the French system. He is now at a superselective academic prep and thriving (academically, sports, music, and other extracurriculars).

My younger started out in the French system (we thought we'd give it another go with a different sort of child). However as my elder went further into the English system we much preferred the type of education he was receiving and switched the younger into the English system, and he is now at a comparable highly selective academic English prep.

Please feel free to PM me with specific questions, and good luck!

Thanks - have PM'd you.