Clé France

Studying in France: A Perfect Score.

If you are planning to move to France with school age children then read on and by all means get your children to read this blog, we hope it helps and if you want more insight then leave a comment and we will follow it up, also if you have first hand experience of the education system then please also leave some comments.

We get lots of people asking us about the buying process and viewing property for sale in france with us but we also get hundreds of questions about the various aspects of living in France once people see a property they like and mark as a favourite, one of the most common questions is about the French education system and their concerns about putting thier children through the French system.

We have done that with our children and helped and advised many others on every aspect over the years so here we are adding some insights in the form of blogs to the Cle France website to help you understand the differences.

Photo by Tal Bright on Flickr

Les examens… If you are currently in the middle of your exams or you are about to passer les examens (take exams) and hope you can réussir les examens (pass exams) we wish you all the luck in the world, perhaps you are thinking of moving to France?

Let us just take a moment to see how different the grading system is in France, so you know what to expect.

The very first thing that will jump out to a non-French person is that grades are not based on an A, B, C, D, F system; they are not a percetage or even a 0-100 scale. Instead everything is based on a 0/20 marking system, with 10/20 being the basic "Pass" grade.

The other oddity (to us at least!) of the French grading system is that there is a strong emphasis on the idea that “personne n’est parfaite” (nobody’s perfect), quite refreshing in its own way. So teachers and 'profs' almost never ever give out a grade of 20/20! or at least I never got one!

Before people start yelling at me that it is just me that never got 20/20, “mais c’est faux ! Il  y a des profs qui donnent des 20s !” (That’s not true! There are teachers that will give you 20s!), yes I guess, it is true that it is possible to achieve the much desired vingt sur vingt (twenty out of twenty), but it is rare and in general, on le donne pas (it’s not given out), because “personne n’est parfaite”.

Thinking about this, it is a little bizarre and certainly odd if you a’re not used to it. As a result of nobody being parfaite, l’idée d’une bonne note (the idea of a good grade) is un peu different compared with UK and American equivalents where stiving for the top marks is encouraged and shouted from the rooftops!

So what score is considered good?

In France a 12/20 is pretty good, a 14/20 is considered good and a 16/20 is amazing give yourself a pat on the back! (18/20 is reserved only for excellent work so if you get this then your a destined for great things).

Thinking about ces notes (these grades) in the familiar terms of just A, B, C, D, F may make you feel like you couldn’t do well in France and that scores out of 20 devalue your efforts somewhat BUT, enfin (finally), you will get used to the French grading system and be hiting the high numbers before you know it.

Le système d’éducation française (The French education system) is vastly different from the UK and American system. You may have to stumble along and learn it as you go, but in general it will only take 3 months to get to grips with the education system, about 6 months to fiully intergrate and by the end of the first year you will never want to be anywere else than studying en France.

If anyone has a specific question about 'the system' or how things work in French schools, Colleges and Uuniversities, feel free to leave a comment un commentaire below!

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Hi David & Sharon, Many thanks for all your help. We have had a great experience and some very good advice.

We would definitely recommend Cle France to any persons looking to buy in France.   

All the best.

Kind regards

Lee & Becky Hooke.

Lee & Becky bought a very nice habitable house to develop further in Lower Normandy and signed just before Christmas so a nice Christmas present to themselves! 

The tax you have read about is at this stage merely a proposal and for most people buyiung in rural France it does not concern you anyway, but if you are looking to buy in an urban area there are some things to note.

According to a report in a French daily newspaper Les Echos, second homes that are located in areas where there is a housing shortage could face an increase of 20% on their Taxe d'Habitation.

This measure is being considered by the government and could apply in 28 urban agglomerations in France, known as zones tendues, where a tax on vacant homes is already in place.

These areas are: Ajaccio, Annecy, Arles, Bastia, Bayonne, Beauvais, Bordeaux, Draguignan, Fréjus, Genève – Annemasse, Grenoble, La Rochelle, La Teste-de-Buch – Arcachon, Lille, Lyon, Marseille – Aix-en-Provence, Meaux, Menton – Monaco, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Saint-Nazaire, Sète, Strasbourg, Thonon-les-Bains, Toulon, and Toulouse.

Most international home owners with country / rural properties in France will not therefore be affected, although holiday homes in some popular coastal resorts will face a tax hike. But unless you are buying in one of these areas you will be unaffected.

That said it is difficult to give you a 'typical' scenario because taxes vary from commune to commune, and of course utilities vary so much according to usage.

Other charges by comparison: Electric and water etc. are about the same as the UK, and people generally find annual Taxe Fonçière and Taxe d'Habitation compare very favourably indeed, these are in general 5,6,7+ times less than in the UK.

Blog submitted by: Sharon at The French Property Network - Cle France.

Hello David,

We have without doubt had a good experience with everyone at Cle France from beginning to end including your agents on the ground and those who also helped us along the way with Foreign Currency, Insuring our new house and legal advice.  

We feel we received the best service and advice from everyone but especially from you and Sharon as you helped us get the ball rolling!

Nothing was too small a matter and your response to any concern we had was immediate which saved us a lot of headaches. Cle France made the whole experience less daunting than it might otherwise have been. You offer an exemplary service for which we can only congratulate you.  

We are delighted with our purchase. It only took one visit to find the right property. Everything in total took only three months to complete.  

We would have no hesitation in coming back to Cle France for any future purchases or sales we might make as we know that not only are you at Cle France dependable but you are also very nice people and a pleasure to know. 

Dean and I would both like to extend our thanks to you and Sharon for all the support you gave us throughout the process it helped ease us into a life that we had long been thinking of.

Your continued success is well deserved and we wish you lots of it in 2015.

Only thing left to say is HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our very best wishes

Dean & Jacqui.

GEN UP ON GENDARMES - 

1. Never laugh at them especially at motor-way pay barriers no matter what size their moustaches are.

2. If they call to check your papers at home always offer them a coffee but never the Calvados your friendly farmer sold you for 5 euros a litre – this is strictly illegal and they'll ask you for its origin.

3. When stopped at a road check always say ''yes'' when asked if you are ''en vacance''. They will then wave you on with good wishes.

4. When calling at the Gendamerie to report an incident or to get help, raising your voice in the hope they'll understand English is not a good idea.

5. Always call a gendarme 'Monsieur' or even 'Monsieur l'Inspector', flattery seems to work.

6. Always let the lady in the car do the talking if at all possible and always smile sweetly – that too works wonders.

7. Always carry your passport and driving licence with you and keep your car documents in the car – although they seldom understand them the production on demand creates a good impression.

8. If you are stopped by the police do not mention your friend the local gendarme. They don't like each other – the police don't have the power of the gendarmes and there's always a certain amount of jealousy.

9. If your neighbour is the local senator or similar dignitary, it's always worth mentioning his name if you are having a contretemps – they are very susceptible to 'who you know'.

10. If you do need help don't ever hesitate to ask a gendarme – they are actually very helpful.

BON CHANCE.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

If you want more? then follow the links above where you can buy Fraser's published books.