Private schools

Phipplebert · Post by **Phipplebert** » Thu 19 Jul 2012 21:06

Can anyone help....
What are the private schooling options for a 3 year old in or near le boulou? Ideally within 10/20 minutes drive? I see there is a Montessori school in Perpignan but it looks like a 30 min drive which will mean 2 hours of driving per day

tia · Post by **tia** » Thu 19 Jul 2012 23:07

Hi , the montessorie school would be quite a trek for you from le boulou . I don't want to put you off but I think you have left it way too late to find a place in a private school for september. When I went for my daughter the inscriptions were in december for the following september, ( although she only stayed there for a month as it did not work out). If you still want to try I think the closest to you is 'Maintenon.' It is still in perpignan, just after the auchan roundabout. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that there are no other private schools within 10/20 minutes drive.
Lisa

Phipplebert · Post by **Phipplebert** » Thu 19 Jul 2012 23:16

We can but try for sept, you never know.....or next year, either way

we have only recently found a house to move to so its all new.

Is there nothing closer than perpignan? I have been looking up 'ecole privee' and 'ecole publique' but I can not work out if they are private or not. I hasten to add, I am not looking for an English speaking school, I want French speaking, French curriculum etc but I am keen to follo the private route ad our local school is would appear want him collected at lunch time every day which may leave us to driving 1hr20 mins a day to a school 10 mins away and us having no chance to do much.....until er see the mairie we will not know if this is for definite but it appears to be the case.....

tia · Post by **tia** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 09:04

Hi, I'm afraid that for private schools it is mainly perpignan. I'm pretty sure there is not any nearer for you. From my personal experience I would not put my child back into private schooling, at least for the junior school,but that is each persons choice. I would ask about the local schools as that way your child will beable to make friends in the town , public maternelles are pretty good, ( my daughter went to the local one and it was brilliant,) I then thought that private schooling would be better for the junior years and made a big mistake! She is now back at the local primary school and happy. There were 27 pupils in her class in the private school and just 20 in the local school .As for english speaking schools that is virtually inexistante here. There is a maternelle in perpignan but that is about it.
Lisa

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 10:07

I know a few people who've sent their kids to the Maternelle in Le Boulou and been perfectly happy.

Cours Maintenon is almost certainly full and so is the waiting list.

The other option is Le Jardin Enchanté in Perpignan. It's a bit alternative although not sure its Montessori but again, parents have been happy with it. It usually has places because it's expensive.

If you are both working you can enroll your child for school lunches.

Phipplebert · Post by **Phipplebert** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 10:22

Hi, thanks for the replies

I don't think the le boulou maternelle is a bad school by any stretch of the imagination, what I am trying to avoid is the school run 4 times a day. As we do not have any family in the area it means my husband and I will only get 2.5 hours in 2 stints per day, 4 times a week, which leaves little time to do anything. (A 1h 20min worth of driving for a school 10 minutes away).

I have had a look at the jardin enchante but it too is a good 25 minutes from us.....

Neither of us can prove that we work as we have not moved yet. I am a self employed photographer but have been a full time mum so I can't prove pay slips and my husband, whilst he would like to start a business has not so he too can not show anything. We will talk to the Mairie about lunches but I am just preparing myself for the fact we may have a very broken up day and I am therefore looking at other options.

The municipal French schooling system is better than the uk system (in my opinion) and is one of the reasons we came, as well as their good public schooling options.

tia · Post by **tia** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 14:55

If le boulou is like alenya then there is a garderie system , here you do not have to work for your child to go to garderie, or for the wednesday centre de loisirs. It is just the cantine that it is compulsory for both parents to be in work. If the local school is just 10 mins from you this would be a lot cheaper and easier option than travelling to a private school in perpignan each day. With the traffic jams in the morning and evenings you're talking a lot more than the 1h20. To get to the jardin enchanté at 8.30 in the morning I would think it would take more than 25 mins from leboulou. (The cantine is often more expensive in private school and I know the one my daughter went to had no garderie on a wednesday ).

Phipplebert · Post by **Phipplebert** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 16:02

Just to clarify....do both parents have to work for Garderie? Only currently we do not, or does one pay for this? Thanks

tia · Post by **tia** » Fri 20 Jul 2012 17:23

in alenya you do not need to work for your child to go to garderie, or for the centre de loisirs on the wednesday. for the payment it is based on your revenues(or coefficient caf if you are registered with them). it is not expensive , roughly 1.40-2.20 euros a day. I have no idea how much it is in le boulou but I would think it would be in the same price region. we have a garderie system that starts at 7.30am and after school until 6.30pm. On the wednesday there is the centre de loisirs for which I pay 13 euros for the whole day( meal included), If your child is in the first year of maternelle there are a lot of parents who keep their kids at home in the afternoon as at school they are put down for the siesta.
Hope this helps.

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Sat 21 Jul 2012 10:45

I think you'll find that having your child home for lunch makes a nice break in the day and that the extra 80 minutes per week are not that big a deal.

Even though we both work full-time, our kids came home for lunch until they were 5 and then 2 days a week until they were a bit older. 8 hours is a long time for a small child to be away from home.

One thing I've learnt from living in France is that a decent lunch break improves your working stamina and you can get a lot more done than grabbing a 15 break for food, so long as you give up the coffee-breaks every 30 minutes!

tia · Post by **tia** » Sat 21 Jul 2012 17:08

I agree, when we were both working my daughter was going school from 7.30am till 6 pm and was absolutely shattered at the end of the week, (homework was a nightmare), Since stopping full time work she is a lot happier. I can pick her up most dinner times and have now found a parent who will have her if I can't make it, rather than leaving her at the cantine.

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Private schools

Private schools