Hello everyone,
My husband has just accepted a job in Geneva and we will be moving there (from Scotland) at the end of July. We have two children aged 3 and 5.
As this move is permanent, we would prefer to enrol our 5 year old into a public Kindergarten school - I feel that a private school would not help integrating into the local community.
My first priority is to find somewhere suitable to live (within 1 hour commute to Geneva) near a good kindergarten school. I have spent several hours browsing through threads and the overall impression was not great. Many of your children seem to have experienced problems making friends and settling into life in Switzerland. I'ts left me feeling extremely anxious.
Can anyone recommend a good kindergarten experienced in dealing with English speaking children (and English speaking parents!).
Many thanks,
Anne
Hi Annie
Welcome to the Forum.
Just to manage your expectations, it'll be much more likely that you have to choose a house rather than a school. Even with the generous search area that you're considering, housing will still be very scarce, so it's no use at all setting your heart on a particular school.
Also, your child's experience will depend very much on her individual teacher - they seem to have much more autonomy here than in the UK.
But hey, the good news is that most of the stories you've been reading about aren't remotely based on this area. I live in Préverenges (between Morges and Lausanne) and my kids have had a wonderful experience settling into the local school. This is echoed by friends I have in Rolle, Nyon and Morges and other nearby little villages.
Here, the stories are much more like my experience - passionate, dedicated teachers who are as delighted by your child's progress as you are, and prepared to spend time and effort to help your child and explain systems to you. My kids (now 9 and 5) have had a total of 5 teachers, what with year changes and job sharing, and they are ALL like this. And, if it helps, they have so far all spoken English, somewhere between 'sufficient for communication' and 'totally fluent'.
And the other kids in the class have been friendly, tolerant and patient with mine, who haven't once been bullied or excluded from things.
I know there's always exceptions, but my impression is that this whole La Cote region is largely like this - cosmopolitan, accepting of change and ready to welcome incomers.
Hope this sets your mind at rest a little, and best of luck for your move.
kodokan
Hi Anne,
Could not agree more with the first reply, you need to sort out your housing first. I made a real hash of it first go, but once I set more realistic expectation it was not a problem. My wife literally went to the local kinder garden and asked, she was re-directed to one even closer to where we live.
In short the kinder garden is brilliant as are the teachers.
Good luck with your move.
Thanks very much for your replies, it's great to hear some happy stories and you have helped to put my mind at rest.
We will have a relocation company to help us find somewhere to live, so hopefully that will help a wee bit.
Kodokan - thanks for the feedback on the La Cote region. That's very interesting because a guy that my husband will be working with in Geneva also mentioned a few of the areas you listed - he also thought they might be more suitable for us. I think we will be focusing our search in that region.
I know that a large part of settling in will be down to the amount of effort we put it, so I'll be doing my best to learn French and to get out and about as much as possible.
Thanks again,
Anne
Anne,
I agree with both replies. It will be easier for you to find a kindergarten for your kids, the place where you will live (commune) will give you priority to a nearby public school then for your 3 year old, your option is to put him/her in a day care (garderie) or nursery (crèche) they are also around your commune. I also have my share of experience on this.
Speaking about public schooling in Geneva, for me it was a bit difficult back then being not a francophone. Things probably change now as a lot of people here in Geneva wants to learn english.
There are positive posts as well! We had only good experiences with public schools.
Sort out a place to live, then the rest. Here in Zurich term starts mid August. You can then check out a playgroup for your 3 yr old.