Schooling public or private

[nicolasf]

Hey all

We are a family of 4 (kids aged 6 and 9) who will get our PR by March 2020 hopefully (Express Entry).
We will do our landing in Toronto in late June at the end of of the school year, but have started considering starting our adventure in Canada in Montreal. So we might relocate there shortly after landing in Toronto (don't think it's an issue correct?)

The concern I have, comes to schooling. My wife and I are native French speakers so professionally speaking, we shouldn't face any challenges at all. Our problem is that our children have been schooled in an IB English school. Thus while they do understand a bit of French they speak mainly English and have never studied in French.
I am confident they will be able to make the transition easily and become perfectly bilingual by the end of their 1st school year.

So my question to those who might have experienced the same scenario:
Do French schools take in students with limited knowledge of French ? I would like to avoid putting them in a private english school, not only due to the high tuition fees, but also because we actually WANT our kids to be proficient in French. It is just the initial transition phase that we will need help with. We have already started heavily tutoring them (personally at home) but of course, this still won't change the fact that they have never studied in French.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Schehrazade]

Schooling shouldn’t be a problem at all. Public schools have immersion classes for children who don’t speak or are weak in French so that they can slowly transition into normal classes. Plan on where you would like to live or choose a school and then find a home in that school zone. Kids won’t have difficulty..if they know the language a little the transition will be easy. Best of luck.

 

[nicolasf]

Schooling shouldn’t be a problem at all. Public schools have immersion classes for children who don’t speak or are weak in French so that they can slowly transition into normal classes. Plan on where you would like to live or choose a school and then find a home in that school zone. Kids won’t have difficulty..if they know the language a little the transition will be easy. Best of luck.

Thanks for the fast reply!

Another question I have is, do usually public schools accept late admissions? We will start applying to schools but we have noticed that some require in-person interviews and entrance exams. I would rather avoid travelling before our actual landing as Canada isn't exactly next door to where we are right now and the kids are in the middle of the school year... As I mentioned previously we will most likely travel last week of June, first half of July at most. Would this be fine to tackle all school related formalities?

Thanks again

 

[Schehrazade]

As far as making a trip just for schooling I wouldn’t think so. I would write to the ones that tick all the boxes and start that dialogue. That way you’ll get the right way forward from each school concerned. They might send a placement test to the children’s current school just so they know exactly where to place them but even that is unlikely seeing the children’s ages. I’ve always been proactive with the children’s schooling and it’s worked out well for us. Gave us time to see which school would work best with our kids.

 

[canuck78]

Going to agree that even students with no English or French enter the Canadian school system so it is not uncommon and there will be a transition program. For younger children they will likely just put them in a French classroom and they will easily absorb language like a sponge. In terms of admission most of the school choice are usually based on choice of school board and your catchment area. Choice likely comes in in high school and cegep for more specialized programs. All depends on the age of your children.