Hello ,
My son is a 10tgh grader, he was accepted recently by the British school of Paris in France, We live in Washington and don’t know if that will increase his chances or not to get in his first choice college. His gpa right now decreased from 3.8 to 3.5 and his teachers are not all good. Can someone give his advice ? It’s a huge decision !!! We would appreciate any help. Thank you .
His college acceptances will depend primarily on his GPA and test scores, not if he goes abroad. If you think he’ll get a better education abroad, send him, but I wouldn’t make the decision based on what would look better for colleges.
I appreciate your advice. Thank you so much for your time. Is Anyone else in the forum know about this school or have experienced to study in a great private school abroad ? I know hard work is the only key for success but having good teachers help a lot !
My collegekids went to independent schools in several countries & the US, so (if I can) I am happy to answer any questions, but more info would help.
If your son is in school in Washington, DC, there are dozens of strong independent schools to choose from (including a British school), so there must be another purpose in considering sending him to a British school in France?
What is your nationality, and where has your son lived?
Also, what is his ‘first choice’ college? (and how sure are you that it will still be his first choice in 2 years time?0
Thank you so much for your help and any advice you can provide. Our nationality is Turkish. In fact, our company can pay my child tuition from now until he is 21. Here in Washington , Best private school are full for his grade. He is fluent in French , so we applied for the British school of Paris and are thinking for relocation even we like our life here. His dream is to be a doctor, and he want to go to UK for that. Washington University is his second Choice.He is perseverant, curious and kind. However after 2 years with almost only As, his gpa decreased unexpectedly. Nothing changed in our lives so we are assuming that some of his teachers are the cause. We just want to give him better opportunities. Thanks a lot for your time.
Thoughts & questions, in no particular order:
- Med school in the UK: especially difficult for non-UK citizens. Except for a couple of private programs (University of Birmingham and Ascot University in Birmingham, both of which are so new that their 1st class has not graduated yet), UK medical schools have a cap on how many international students they can accept- and many don't even fill their quota. They will expect to see some meaningful experience in a health care setting before applying, and the entering course work expectations are high (easily available online).
- Has your son studied in the British system before? if not, there is a pretty big transition, in teaching, marking, priorities and curriculum order (especially in math and languages).
- Has your son lived in the UK or France before, and do you have friends/family nearby the school? If the goal is UK for university, wouldn't a UK boarding school make more sense?
- Does your son's temperament seem well suited to being on his own overseas at 16? Will he be able to advocate for himself when he needs things? Does he have the drive / self-discipline / maturity to manage his academic and personal life independently? It's important to be realistic about this. And, crucially: how excited about this is he?
- Is there any possibility that it is not that all of the 10th grade teachers are bad (when grade 8 & 9 were good)? It is not uncommon to see some grade dropping as students move up the grades into more demanding classes. In some cases how they study has to change. It is also not uncommon for things on the personal side to get complicated in the mid-teens (and, even if nothing has changed in your life, things are definitely changing in his!). It is entirely plausible that a teacher or two is bad- but it would be unusually unlucky to have all 5 academic teachers be genuinely 'bad' teachers. There are a lot of conversations- with other parents, with his teachers, with his dean, with his head of school- that I would have before deciding that the only option was to move country.
I have pulled kids from schools partway through the year (twice, in different countries), and changed schools within a level (in a different country again) when it was clear that the problems were not surmountable- I completely understand that you do what you have to do for your child! but you have to be *sure what the issues are, not assuming that it’s just bad teachers, or the problem may simply come with you. It is not easy to change schools (in addition to the ones above, ours have had to move at every level b/c of job relocations- no one finished a level of schooling in the same country that they started it). They are fine now (so they tell me!) but it was hard on them every time.
ps do you mean Washington University in St Louis or George Washington University?
*to be fair, they were both in the 1st 6 months after we arrived in the country & the reality of the schools turned out to be rather different than expected from the 1 day pre-move visit.
I truly appreciate your advices. It helps a lot. His second choice school is Washington university in Seattle. Apart the American curriculum , he did 2 years in the British system , and one year in the French system. You are right , only 2 of his teachers are not good 
. Being a teenager is so hard sometimes, and a relocation will not fix that. I hope your kids are happy, I guess they had an amazing experience. Thanks again.
So he has had his share of different systems already. is there one that suits him particularly well? Mine had definite preferences!
Tutoring for the subjects where the teachers aren’t up to scratch is the usual solution. For one of ours, 3 sessions with a math tutor solved the problem- it turned out that in our moves she had somehow missed a module that turned out to matter later on. Once that hole was plugged she was fine. For another it was that the way the teacher presented info just didn’t gel. And so on.
What you are doing is hard- sorting out when and how to intervene is always tricky, in mid-adolescence trickier again, and the extra variables of a peripatetic background and cultural differences just make it a whole other level of tricky. I hope you have some mom-support around you
Thanks . My preference is definitely the British curriculum but my son like the American too. What I dislike about the American curriculum is the competitivity. I feel also that handwriting , organisation , maths are not important as in others curriculums. And even its fun , sometimes, its like we have have to hurry. My son doesn’t want to have tutors maybe but may be that’s what we have to discuss with him. I live in USA since 4 years , and lived in many others countries. I feel books , schools and teachers have a common points : they are only few who are really good. I Hope I am wrong ! Thanks a lot for your help.
You should speak to a consultant for private schools abroad. They are all very different and some have better programs and paths to various colleges and careers. I attended multiple schools abroad and could see a big difference. Many friends who attended foreign schools were either extremely prepared or sadly undereducated. There are specialists esp at large companies and parents who know the various schools ( and countries). You can often get matriculation lists. But normally you will find active discussion groups on this topic in country forums for expats. Expats need to get their kids educated and then take them back home so they know what to look for. Perhaps there is one in France for Expat Americans.
Thank you . That helps do you by chance know how can I contact such specialists ? Do I have to ask my child counselor ?