Feeback from french family / swiss / belgium on education

[futuredad]

Hi,

Time for us to start thinking about how to educate our son, 22 month at present. I am french, my wife is japanese and obviously we live in Hong Kong. We do speak french /english to him and he seems to understand both pretty well.

We have 2 options:

- send our boy to french school ( +: easy to get in, + french school on most big cities , - far from where we live)
- send him to international school (+ waiting list, + much more choices and reduce commuting time . +/- can be a problem if we go back to france in 10 years


Choice is influenced more commuting time (we do live far from french school but consider relocating if really needed) and the fact that we do not know how long we will stay in hk and if we will actually go back to france before retirement... My son should start his university at time of my retirement and will be happy to see him enjoying relatively low cost of studies there... but for that you need a solid level in french language.

There is no magical solution but I will be very interesting in receiving feedback from french family that are probably in the same situation. Do you guys stick to french cursus or some of you go for international cursus and in case of return in france you believe that your kids will be able to catch up?

I want to start on the right foot for his education.. and advice / opinion will be helpful.

thank you
cheers

 

[MommyTo3]

I heard yesterday from fellow moms that French School no longer guarantees French nationals a spot due to high demand. I am sure it's still easier, but again, no certainty.

You may want to check.

 

[MrsG]

We're a French/Canadian family - both kids with french passports. When you talk about the french school be very clear there are 3 sections - French only, French/English bilingual and then the Interntational School which is English with more french than you'd get elsewhere (for want of a better description!)

My understanding is as a french citizen (if thats how your kids are registered) they will be accepted after 5 into the French section. The bi-lingual is limited in class size and subject to how good their french is, and the International section like all international school is subject to waiting lists, interviews blah blah blah! However do check - demand is growing and I know a lot of french who assume entry is a given, so I wouldn't be surprised if its changed since we arrived - or would change in the future.

If you are keen on this route it also wouldn't hurt to put him in a french creche - there are just a few in HK, the Lycee (very hard to get into due to limited places) Stanley, Wan Chai and personally we use Bigfoot kindergarten in PokFuLam. At least this way his french will be up to scratch - sorry but I'm assuming you do the french talking so maybe only weekends/evenings - apologies if I've guessed wrong!

With regards going "home" or indeed any other country - well its so hard to say. As I'm sure you know the french education system is highly focused on academics and highly competitive, your son is 22 months he may not thrive in that environment or he may. Equally you may retire to France, and he may want to go to Uni elsewhere!

Personally I would hedge your bets- join a few waiting lists - you can never start to early- and visit some schools, see which ones you like and feel comfortable with. Obviously apply both to the French and the International French School (2 different application processes)

 

[futuredad]

Hi,

Thanks for sharing. Hard choice, not knowing where we will be in 10 years.

@MrsG: yes, we do plan to apply both international and french in any cases. We thought about the french creche but too far from where we live right now and I don't want to have him going through so much commuting time as such young age. If we chose to follow the french cursus, will look to relocate in HK side again..

 

[Louiseamanda]

Hi,
Sorryold thread, but just cpl points about FIS. If you are planning a French future ( working in France, living/studying as a native in France) for your family,then the French school ( French section - since you cannot go straightinto bilingual section without French section first) seems the most obvious choice.
If you move in a few years, back France, then your child can easily slot into school.
You dont mention your childs maternal tongue ( Japanese) which is not just a language, but an identity, strong and rich culture etc so I presume that is not being erased.
Good luck with your choice.