Will your children learn French without tears?

More and more people are fulfilling their dream of going to live abroad. But how will their children cope with a new life, new friends ÿ and a new school? Ginetta Vedrickas reports

Throw them in, they'll learn French more quickly than you will," says Rosemary Clark of French estate agency Select Properties. This is Clark's advice to the growing numbers of families who are moving permanently to France but who fear that their children won't cope with the state school system. Clark is a firm advocate and knows her subject. Today she is an estate agent and sells properties in the Aveyron, Lot area but many years ago, back in the UK, she was a schoolteacher and head of French: "There is no problem with using the state schools here. It's a good socialist country, education is important, and the schools are good."

Clark has seen at first hand the changing nature of migration, which has prompted this need for information on local schools. Ten years ago, just 20 per cent of British buyers were interested in settling abroad permanently, whereas today that figure has risen to 85 per cent. Among the would-be movers are increasing numbers of people with school-age children.

Clark reassures clients that their children will thrive in the local schools, but adds that their problems are similar to British schools: "They are exactly like schools in the UK. Just recently our local school lost a teacher so they went on strike, and they are about to lose another."

Clark's patch includes the Aveyron, Lot, Tarn et Garonne and the south Dordogne. Living in a rural area can mean that the school day is long: "The little girl opposite me leaves at 7.45am and doesn't get back until 4.45pm. But they close every Wednesday, which gives the children some respite," she adds.

Rhona Booth moved from Teeside to VEF's Normandy and Brittany office two years ago with her children Katie and Jonathan, who were then aged seven and three. She had no qualms about transferring them straight into her local French school: "My love of France started with exchange trips and I'd been in French schools as a teenager. Even though it's different in primary, I was sure that the system is better in the long run in terms of the depth of knowledge that children get here."

Like Clark, Booth lives in a rural area where there are no international schools, but her own children's positive experience of the French educational system acts as a useful example for VEF clients, who are often apprehensive as to how their children will settle: "Buyers are worried that their children will find it hard, but the more we tell them about our own experiences, the more confidence it gives them and when they decide to move here, they invariably use the local schools."

Booth remembers Katie's first day which, she admits, "was a bit of a knee-trembler all round", but it ended happily: "Everyone wanted to be Katie's friend and the teachers were very sensitive to her; they put her into a younger age group to help her. Here, as it is a rural community, children tend to be more innocent, less streetwise than in the UK, perhaps."

Booth finds that schools are often short of pupils so they welcome English children with open arms: "They like the cross-border experience of bringing another culture into the school and getting involved yourself is a very good way of getting to know people; you quickly find yourself welcomed into the community."

One further benefit of attending a French school are the school dinners where "home-cooked French food, always three courses" is the norm. Similarly, lumpy mashed potato is a dim and distant memory for the pupils who attend the International School in Porches on the Western Algarve, where the pupils dine on freshly grilled sardines or meat, with salad and fruit daily. The Porches school is divided into two sections: one following a Portuguese curriculum, the other an English one. According to John Butterworth, the headteacher of the school, this works very well: "Everyone learns Portuguese but, because it is an International school, it is easy to move between the UK system and here." Butterworth believes that International schools are of particular benefit to those families who like the idea of moving to the Algarve but who are unsure of how long they will stay.

Butterworth sees more people than ever trying out new lives in the area, often deciding to make a permanent move after owning a holiday home locally: "It's a great opportunity to be part of an international community. We have many nationalities who come here from all over the world and it's a very tolerant community."

Property developer Graham Fone runs Portogoa, based in the Algarve, and his two children have both attended the International School with great success. He, too, reassures clients moving to the Algarve that they will have access to a great school where the fees are around half those of private schools in the UK.

Fone builds villas costing up to £750,000 and, while he has no reservations about schools, he warns buyers about the types of property on offer: "Many buy holiday homes which are not built for winter living. Check that whatever you buy has double glazing and central heating, as the winters here can be very cold."

Search agent Caroline Thomas often finds properties for people moving to be near the school at Porches: "Most buyers want an English-speaking school like this one, where a large proportion of the teachers are British. These schools are also popular with German and Dutch parents as it ensures their children pick up a high standard of English, which is useful later on."

Select Properties: 01296 747045; sp@french-houses.demon.co.uk

VEF: 020-7515 8660; www.vefuk.com

The International School, Porches, Western Algarve, Portugal: 00 351 282 342 547.

CT Surveys: (UK) 07971 254438 lthom@lycos.com

Portogoa Properties: 00 351 282 341 035