A Year In Provence...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you very much for the tips regarding the Facebook page and the car rental! Very pragmatic and much appreciated. How did your children like it? And how did you find it, or did they board?

I had kids in middle school and elementary. IBS is very well resourced for a French private school, but lacks quite a bit from an American perspective. However, it is much less expensive. They have a lot of teacher turnover, which impacted my kids. Even though the school is international, the teaching style is quite old-school. I did not mind this because my kids were coming from a more progressive school and I like having a bit more substance….but it is not for everyone. My kids did not love the school, but say they learned a lot. I would have no qualms enrolling them in the future. In general parents are happy, though again do not go in expecting anything similar to the US. Classrooms are tiny and full. IBS has grown quickly and the school is bursting at its seams. Also another thing, despite the school being bilingual unless they are in elementary they will pick up little French. There is a divide between the French Aixois students and the other international students who all speak english. The split is about 50 - 50.

[Anonymous]

This is such an interesting thread! We are looking to move from London to Aix in time for the 2025 school year. Our kids are in bilingual school in London and (ages 5 and 2) and we're looking to maintain their English and French fluency, yet have them in an emotionally intelligent school - i.e. not the harsher hierarchical traditional French system. The teacher turnover, size of school and general feedback on IBS doesn't seem super great... there are other private bilingual schools in Aix as far as I understand too, that may be a little smaller and more friendly. Does anyone have any perspective on this? Or a contact that would be able to help? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

We had the same idea a couple of years ago and sent our boy to boarding school of IBS. Watch out: This is not what you expect from a boading school but a collection of buildings around Aix, where the kids are being transported to and from daily through heavy traffic and spending btw. 30' to 2h/day in buses (depending on the house). 2-4 kids sharing bedrooms, some renovated, some old and moldy bathrooms. Typically young, unexperienced supervisors are assigned to take care of the kids, some of them barely speaking English. After school activities very mediocre, the school in general over filled and facilites at their limits (1 gym for over 1000 students, most students skip sports classes). No competitive sports teams, theater just about to take off a tiny bit (thanks to some teachers). Ask 1000 of questions before you go and be aware of the difference between the 'packaging' and content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle - one of the most delightful reading experiences of my reading life, check it out.

+1 Great book!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out Isabelle Bertolami on Tik Tok or instagram, she’s an American mom with a French husband living in France and raising their young daughter there. They have an Apartment in Paris that they Airbnb and they’re currently renting in Aix and have a lot of Aix insights https://www.tiktok.com/@isabellebertolami?_t=8mKHl9shNdq&_r=1

I can't believe I clicked on that. Exactly the nonsense I thought it would be.

Yeah I would not use her as my resource. She's basically a very nicely repackaged wellness influencer whose experience is not practical but you will "learn" a lot about French butter and the chemicals of baby wipes.