I'm faced with a challenge which I would be grateful to have some ideas and advice.
My family have been living in Neuchatel for 6 years now but with our little French, we're not successful finding jobs there and rather successful getting positions in international companies in Biel and Bern.
Recently I had to change job and couldn't find any in Neuchatel and landed with another international company in Basel and need to commute every week of 2.5 hours one way.
As a result we have decided to relocate to Olten so I can easily reach Basel while my husband also continues his position in Biel.
We have kids 8, 6 (by next year May) and 3 (in June next year) and we need advice on how they'll be able to follow school changing from French to German in grades 3 and 1 of primary school in Olten.
Will they be admitted into the respective grades with a support in German or are they taken completely off the classes and given German lessons for a whole year and made to repeat their grades?
With the little one is it a kita or a spiel gruppe which will be good for her?
Thank you all for your responses and advice which will inform our decisions.
I think the kids will be OK. I did something similar, and the kids speak fluently. A bit of sentence structure mix up with one (mild dyslexia plus not enough immersion), while the other gets 5.5 - 6 in German, and skipped a grade.
Drop me a note if you need here around Olten . Kinds be fine - schools may provide them with complimentary german etc to make sure they are okay but it's positive as they get someone to help them for next 12-24months until they feel comfortable . At that age - it should be no issues at all.
I choose to live outside of Olten for few reasons one being school for kids in case you wonder..
Sorry I saw this so late - We live in Bern, which in my honest opinion is a much nicer place to live than Olten. (Sorry to the Olten folks)
We moved to Bern because I was working in Neuchatel and my husband was (and is still) working in Basel. It is perfectly centralized and also close to Biel ... it is also bilingual with French. It will be a 25-30 minute longer commute for you by train - but to me, the good outweighs the bad, especially considering your children's' schooling...
We like it so much here that even though my job is no longer in Neuchatel / is in Zurich, we have still chosen to remain here.
Yes ... but also in Olten. However, Bern is bilingual where French is a major focus in the schools. (The children can speak it well, so it will be easier for OP's child to integrate)
Can't offer any advise on the transition from french to German as we moved straight from the UK to just outside olten. But once you are here if you fancy meeting up/any local tips let me know. I have a 4 and 5 (soon to be 6) year old