I grew up in Britain but moved to Paris in 2016 and my children, aged 11 and seven, now go to a local school in our Paris neighbourhood. Discovering the French school system has been a learning curve. Here are the biggest differences, and the things I miss about British schooling.
Starting early
Enrolling a toddler in school was a bit of a shock to the system for someone used to the idea that children begin reception in September after they turn four. School is compulsory in France from September of the year in which a child turns three. It’s part of the French policy (including plentiful and subsidised childcare from babyhood up) that supports working parents and aims to get everyone off on an equal footing from an early age.
In practice, every year this means a small subset of stressed parents frantically trying to make sure their two-and-a-half-year-olds are potty-trained over the summer holidays.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
- The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
- This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
- We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
- Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
- Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
- Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
- Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
4 min read
A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
2 min read
It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
- While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
- It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
- There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
- Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
2 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Victorinox paring knife
It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for scoring pastry.
ProCook cast iron pan
For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice.
Tesco chopping board
Priced at just £22, I’ve yet to find another board that matches it for sheer value and quality.
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Pyrex jug
It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.
Salter scales
“I’ve had my slim little set of Salter Disc Scales for over a decade, and I’m delighted to see they are still made to exactly the same reliable design today.”
Microplane grater
It uses photo-etched stainless steel teeth that stay razor-sharp for a decade, something the lookalike copycats simply can’t match.
Braun hand-held blender
It’s an essential for everything from making velvety soup to getting the lumps out of white sauce.
Bodum cafetiere
As well as delivering great results, cafetieres are easy to clean and there’s no ongoing filter paper costs or pod recycling to deal with.
5 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Oxo peeler
What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.
Falcon pie dish
Made by fusing porcelain onto heavy-gauge steel for smooth durability, it is dishwasher, freezer, hob, air-fryer and oven-safe.
The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book , explains why we behave the way we do in love.
Golden rules for happy relationships
Start with your own behaviours
The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.
Express your needs
People need consistency and connection to feel safe. This is not, ‘You hurt my feelings by never replying to me’, it’s more ‘this is the kind of contact that helps me feel secure’.
Golden rules for happy relationships
The appendix ‘inflammation’ rule
If a relationship repeatedly inflames your nervous system, you need to disengage and deprioritise it.
Lean on community
You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong.
Stop blaming childhood
Humans are much more complicated than: ‘this happened to you, therefore you are doomed to be anxious’.
Reach for a
secure script
When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one.
If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’
Loneliness elsewhere
When people talk about loneliness, they often assume it means you don’t have enough people in your life. But you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely if those relationships leave you feeling excluded, ignored or disconnected.
What to do
- Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
- You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle.
- Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
- Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
- Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
- Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
- Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
- Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
How to age well
without pain
Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.
How to know
Ageing well is maintaining the ability to do what you want you want for as long as you want without needing help. Everyone is talking about longevity but what’s the point in living longer if the last decade is painful and you’re [totally] reliant on people?”
The signs to look out for
- The most obvious early warning sign of bad ageing is pain says Harlow.
- Another is losing confidence in doing daily tasks, which can quickly lead to a lack of independence.
- One call Harlow often receives is people calling after having a fall and struggling to get up.
4 min read
How to age without pain
Not just stopping
When people retire, they often put their feet up and stop. Your body really is use it or lose it.
Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.
Social isolation
The lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death by
as much as 29 per cent.
Strength training
It really is the proxy for
overall independence.
The more muscle mass you have, the less chance of heart disease, diabetes, falls and even anxiety, depression and dementia.
The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.
How to age without pain
Daily habits
Do short bursts of exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, in otherwise dead time during the day.
Stretch in bed
Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.
Don’t crash diet
How to age without pain
Harlow advises 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight to stop muscle loss alongside resistance training.
Don’t wait
Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain.
For most people, it’s about reducing the number of times per week you’re exercising, not reducing intensity.
The three ageing tests to do
- Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12.
The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.
Despite the job market hiring fewer entry-level roles, employers are still looking for grads…
But you should be prepared to keep an open mind.
We’ve compiled the sectors hiring graduate roles, what degree is required, and what they pay.
The degrees to choose for a career
Hiring in the UK could
finally be on the up
47%
of employers offered entry-level
positions from July.
That is up nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year.
700,000
But graduate unemployment rose to six per cent in 2025 and 700,000 jobless graduates were claiming benefits.
Finance and insurance
- Around 42 per cent of UK finance and insurance employers say they will be open to graduate roles this summer.
- Business loan company Portman Finance Group has taken on 50 graduates over the past four years.
Portman graduates start on £36,000 for the two-year programme and the education you need to apply is a minimum “ABB” of A-levels, and a 2:1 or above university degree. But not in a specific subject.
Trade and logistics
What makes it particularly rewarding is that there’s always something to learn.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trade and logistics companies will be giving graduates a go this year.
Salaries start at £30,000 with an uncapped bonus, rising to £50,000 plus a company car as a senior account partner.
Technology and IT
More than half (52 per cent) of UK tech and IT firms are actively looking for graduates.
Successful entry-level candidates can earn a basic salary of up to £35,000, with the opportunity to triple that within their first three years of working.
4 min read
Public sector, health
and social services
46 per cent of public sector, health and social services organisations are also ready to take graduates, according to a survey by Manpower.
- For example, Police Now runs a graduate programme into policing. They recruit graduates from any degree field, as long as they achieve a 2:2 or above. Starting salaries range from £31,164 to £42,210 depending on location and rising each year.
Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?
According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.
Always have bread
People will feast on the
ELLA RISBRIDGER, AUTHOR OF THE KITCHEN BOOK – GOOD FOOD FOR EVERY DAY
bread, and then need less fish/steak/expensive whatever. All small plates restaurants know this: this is why the first thing on the menu is always artisan bread and butter.
Use vegetables as centrepieces
Add pantry items
Graham’s recipes include a braised cabbage with a preserved lemon sauce, a roast cauliflower with saffron, and harrisa roast carrots with mango labneh.
How to host on a budget
Improve the everyday
Guests will always appreciate a stellar interpretation of the ordinary. Think lasagna or curry.
Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.
Ask for help
Ask friends to bring a contribution, be it a nibble or a pudding.
Big platter energy
[Presentation] can be the key to elevating something . Spaghetti and tomato sauce suddenly looks like a feast when tumbled on a lovely big plate, dressed with olive oil and parmesan and placed in the middle of the table.
Food writer and editor Eleanor Steafel
How to host on a budget
Taco party
Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.
Shop-bought ice cream is so easily zhuzhed up with the help of handy toppings, says Eleanor Steafel.
At that age, it’s more of a pre-school than a formal classroom (and adorably, they all have a post-lunch nap in rows of tiny camp beds) but école maternelle does an efficient job of shaping future French citizens: the emphasis is on play, but also on learning to be together in a group, get along with others, listen to the teacher and get used to classroom routines, ready for primary school.
Throughout the first years of maternelle, they gradually start to get ready for reading and writing, learning things like how to hold a pen, while the real hard work begins in CP – cours préparatoire -when most children are six, and the lists of spellings to learn and texts to read start causing headaches for pupils and parents alike.
Four more years of primary follow, before children switch to collège, from 11-15, before lycée for the last three years and the baccalauréat.
Around 17.6 per cent of school pupils attended private schools in France in 2022, but there is huge variation in the types of private schools: in those under contract to the state (often but not always Catholic schools), the state pays teachers’ salaries, meaning modest fees compared to British private schools and strict adherence to the national curriculum. Completely independent private schools, such as Montessori schools, can choose their own learning methods (within reason), and charge much higher fees.
No uniform
Here in France, you won’t see gaggles of uniformed children making their way to school as very few schools have one. The question of whether they should be introduced has become a political one, closely entwined with the debate over secularity and the wearing of religious clothing in schools. Supporters say uniforms promote equality and discipline while detractors argue that uniforms quash self-expression, cost families yet more money and distract from the real inequalities in wider society.
Autonomy is key
Perhaps it’s just because I live in a big city but my daughters’ classmates seem to be independent a bit earlier than in the UK, with many walking home or to their activities from age ten or so with limited parental input.
Sports, music and art clubs are abundant but generally take place outside school, where the focus is on a core curriculum. In Paris at least there is an almost infinite variety of extra-curricular activities for school-age children, ranging from expensive private music lessons and theatre groups to much more affordable (and often means-tested and state-subsidised) sports clubs offering fencing, capoeira, classical dance and more.
School often finishes around lunchtime on a Wednesday, so young secondary-aged children need to be able to take care of themselves for a few hours.
Complaints from UK friends about organising childcare for the six weeks of summer holidays always raise a wry smile–here kids finish for the summer in early July and don’t go back until September. Eight long school-free weeks stretch out across the summer, more than enough time to turn completely feral. But the good news is that plentiful (and sometimes subsidised) childcare options exist.
Children can attend the centre de loisirs – a holiday day club organised by local authorities involving anything from park trips to museum visits, with costs calculated according to household income; a week’s holiday club could come in at under €10 (£8.60) for the lowest-income families, while the most well-off households wouldn’t pay much more than €125 (£107). Another option is a colonie de vacances (subsidised for some), a rite of passage, as groups of children are shipped off for a week or two of pony club or outdoor activity centres. For mine this summer, it was tennis at our local tennis club.
Grandparents are also the French parents’ secret childcare weapon, with many even quite small children being packed off to stay with them for large chunks of the summer, while their parents carry on working until it’s time for a break en famille.
La rentrée
After all that summer fun, la rentrée (back to school) is a big moment–not just for school children. For adults, September is usually a flurry of new work and social projects, and the fresh-start spirit that, before living here, I associated more with January.
As well as going back to work or school after a summer break, it’s a chance to sign up for a new set of extra-curricular activities for the coming academic year. For children and adults alike, the activities chosen for the year ahead are always a hot topic in September; choose from sports, languages, arts and music groups.
French schoolchildren have to provide most of their own equipment for school, with a list sent out at the beginning of the summer. Tracking down the specific type of drawing paper, notebooks and pens they need is perhaps the hardest task they will face all summer.
School food
On the first day of lockdown, my then very small daughter was keen to reassure me: “Don’t worry if there isn’t a starter every day for lunch at home, Mummy.” She was right to be concerned that culinary standards would slip outside the school canteen: French school lunches are legendary.
Everyone sits down together to eat their four courses: something like salami and cornichons or vegetable soup to start, followed by a main course of chicken, ratatouille and rice. There’s a vegetarian option, but no real choice other than that. It’s lucky they have a long (an hour and a half or so) after-lunch break to run it all off (or a nap, for the smallest ones), as the main course is followed by cheese, with bread of course, or another dairy option such as yoghurt, then a dessert such as a small cake or fruit. With differing timetables, pupils at lycée won’t all be shepherded into the canteen at the same time like the younger ones, but they still sit down at tables for lunch.
There’s no just grabbing a pizza slice to go, and if things like burgers and chips do make it on the school menu, it’s only rarely (and cause for much rejoicing among the pupils). While in recent years offering vegetarian alternatives has thankfully become the norm, a move in Lyon in 2021 to introduce one totally meat-free day a week sparked anger from farmers.
Packed lunches are not really a thing here–or only for children with a doctor’s note confirming an allergy or other medical reason not to eat the same food as everyone else.
While they mostly can’t remember what they had for lunch, my children usually say they like the canteen food (although my cooking is better, apparently, despite the lack of starters). They will eat most things, but how much of that is down to luck and how much is influenced by a French (food) education, it’s hard to say.
Dictation time
The overall learning atmosphere and methods in French schools are often described as old-fashioned, with all the good and bad that implies: a rigid curriculum, a lot of memorising and an emphasis on teachers talking and pupils listening.
One complaint I’ve heard a lot from other parents used to a different school system (although I don’t have experience of this myself) is that although progress is taking place, there is still a long way to go in French schools on accommodating neurodiverse pupils, with a long and bureaucratic process to get any concessions in place.
For many French schoolchildren, la dictée (dictation) is a familiar, if unwelcome term. For me, a child of the 80s British school, dictations are straight out of Enid Blyton, but here, they’re still a key feature of learning, with, at least in the primary years, almost as much emphasis on the handwriting as on the correct spelling and accents. The result is cohorts of 11-year-olds capable of a perfect loopy cursive worthy of Elizabeth Bennet.
And for me, one big plus is that screens seem to have taken less hold on learning time than in UK schools. It’s old-school textbooks all the way, and in primary school, an individual whiteboard is part of the mandated school equipment list. In class, the teacher asks a question and the pupils compete to see who can hold up the correct answer fastest on their board.
We’ve been lucky with inspiring teachers who make even rote work fun and organise art, music and drama projects alongside the vocabulary lists, but–as in the UK or elsewhere that doesn’t seem to be the case in all schools.