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ask for advice about the school Claire Joie in Etterbeek
Dear all, I'd like to ask for your advice/information about the school Claire Joie in Etterbeek.
I am considering this school because there is an English course and it is near my place. But I dont now if it is a good school or not. My 4-year-old son is now at an English-French private school in Brussels. I am looking for a public school which offers an English-course so that he can continue learning English.
If you know any information about any other good public school that has English course, please let me know?
Thanks lots in advance.
Tuan
Is it near your home? (I'm guessing my place could mean my home???). Claire-Joie is a larger than average communale fondamentale, 3 classes per year in maternelle, 2 classes per year in primaire which I would predict might become 3 classes per year in primaire as numbers in schools in Brussels rise. It has its own swimming pool, a very good selection of extra-scolaires activities, both free and paying.
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It is a FRENCH school. You can pay extra for the English lessons, but you could equally send your child to Candy School held at Ecole Ste Anne or Kiddy Classes held in Schuman term-time and at several other locations during the holidays. I certainly wouldn't choose Claire-Joie soley because it does after-school English, several other schools do too. I'd choose it because it is near to home!
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What is certain is that sending your child to Claire-Joie or another French public school will do wonders for your child's French, compared to sending them to either BICS or Acacia where I assume your child must be at the moment. If your child speaks neither French nor English at home, a monolingual school will advance one language much faster than 2 taught at the same time, when a large percentage of the children in the same class I am guessing speak neither or just one of these languages at home. If you stuck to monolingual French or English, adding on extra-curriculars in the other language, you'll have 2 distinct environments. If you choose a French school, French will be the language of everybody (even if 2nd language) and will give enough hours in that language hopefully to give fluency within 2 years, unlike at a bilingual school where hardly any children speak French 1st language and many don't speak English either.
