35. What if my child speaks English but is not fully proficient in French?
Camille Sée offers a class for non-francophone children arriving from abroad who do not speak French. Some children in the Section have made the transition into the International Section once they have improved their French. However, the transition from the UPE2A class to the International Section cannot be guaranteed: it would depend upon the student’s academic level overall and the number of spaces in the International Section available in the year group for which they would be applying. They would have to take the test to make the transition to the International Section.
In order to get placed in one of these sections, they would need to take an exam through the CASNAV office.
There are a number of Collèges around the city that have UPE2A classes for newly arrived students. Students are placed in a program based on the collège that is nearest to their residence and it is not possible to request a specific school.
Once a student has been placed in a UPE2A class (or NF as it is called at Camile Sée) they would start in a class with students who are all new arrivals in France. Little by little they would be integrated into regular classes until they eventually are fully assimilated into a regular program. The goal is to have all students fully integrated into the general section after one year, although this may depend upon the individual child’s ability to reach the required level of French.