A French School in London

Earlier this week the BBC published a report about turning a West London comprehensive school into a bi-lingual school part funded by the French government.  The thinking and offer come from the fact that the school in question is currently not performing as well as it might (only a quarter of pupils gain the benchmark 5 GCSEs at A* to C), while French nationals in London look for provision where their children can follow the French curriculum.

My instant reaction was that this was a brilliant idea.  It solves so many problems in one go.  Children whose culture and first language is French get the chance to follow their national curriculum (including learning philosophy) and take the French Bac - the opening to French higher education and jobs.  A school that is performing not as well as it might becomes the centre of attention and gets extra funding, which should generate a certain Hawthorne effect and improve results.  Hammersmith and Fulham get a showcase school.  English children get a chance to widen their language knowledge.

But thinking on it a bit further, and trying to put my mental clock back to when I was at secondary school - will the children really appreciate this development?  I imagine the French children will, but what about the others?

When I was at school at one stage my parents got really excited about a house in the Dordogne and contemplated moving to France.  That really made me miserable.  While I wasn't the most social of children, I couldn't image leaving our little cottage in Kent, and the woods behind it, and my school, and my friends.  Similarly, any thoughts out of the norm about schooling brought a fear as well - what would I do if I couldn't go to the school I had been mentally preparing myself for over the years.  Finally - being a bit different, learning different things - standing out and being different wasn't the popular thing, and if you were different, you were often miserable.

So will the children of Hammersmith and Fulham think that having a bi-lingual school is the best thing ever (my view as an adult) or will it cause fear, resentment and disaffection?  I really, really hope it works out for all concerned.

Comments

[frank lee]

Does it really matter what the kids think? The parents and education professionals are the one's whose opinions count. Too much grief and wooly thinking has stemmed from giving those who don't have a clue (in this case the children) a voice in matters over which they should have no influence. The bi-lingual school is a great idea and if the kids don't like it then tough. They can knuckle under and learn or go somewhere else and give their (privileged ) place to someone who will gain from it.

[Jane Holland]

It is an interesting point of view, Frank. As one who has managed to escape parenthood, I tend to feel that I am not in a position to comment on modern parenting. When I was a child, I certainly did what I was told, and didn't assume I had any rights in decisions. Nowadays, even medical care seems to involve patient choice (unless someone wishes to die of course), so education seems to be open to participant choice as well pre-16.

It certainly seems to me that when I was a child, a week was an eternity, and if it was a bad week, misery seemed endless. Now a week passes so quickly. In those days therefore, short term misery, or at least anticipation of being less happy than one hoped, was quite a big thing. Now I just shrug it off.