moving to bulgaria with young children

[Monster]

We are looking to move to an area close to Pamporovo.

Can anyone recommend a good school in this area?

Are there any Brits out there, already living near this area?

[spiral]

The only english speaking school in bulgaria at the moment is the anglo american school in sofia (which is very expensive). There are plans for a new english school to open in sofia but i'm not sure what age it will be for.

The local schools will accept foreigners but from what we have been told, the local village schools are 'gypsy' schools and the good teachers head into the towns. They do not make allowances for foreigners, all lessons are taught in bulgarian (obviously!) and the children are expected to pick it up. As the general lesson format is sitting in rows facing the front and little social interaction between the kids, it is very difficult to pick it up. School starts at 8 and finishes between 11 and 12. You can choose to have the children stay for 'afternoon school' where a teacher is on hand to help with homework. From what we have seen, they tend to put all foreign children into 1st grade (7yr olds) no matter how old they are. Good in theory as the first grade teaches the alphabet, but putting a 10 yr old with 7 yr olds does not make it easy to settle.

There are more and more young families moving here, so surely there will be an english style school soon.

[sharki]

U know we moved in Sofia a year ago with a daughter aged 7. She picked up Bulgarian quite easily just by socializing and watching tv. But for us me and my husband it was a struggle. And after half a year we started to study it with a tutor. There are loads of schools u can find. We liked one, called English Club Infinity (Английски Клуб Инфинити ) there, the prices were right. They spoke good English and seemed professional and friendly which was really nice. We gave it a go and were pleased with a feedback. The teacher was really helpful and patient with us. After 4 months improved a lot, being able to communicate with the locals. Its much easier now and my husband even singing Bulgarian songs when we r meeting friends.
So don't be afraid to start studing..That's the scariest part of the whole process. We are on holiday in UK now. Sound weird and i even miss Sofia

[slivatree]

You may want to take into account that in Bulgarian based school they are more concerned with educating their own Bulgarian children than foreign children, naturally!

Having said that the system has gradually evolved to catering for many non Bulgarian speaking children, even in some village schools now. The foreign contingent of pupils have nothing to fear in Bulgaria speaking schools, not least being isolated. In fact they will probably be more isolated from the Bulgarian community going to expensive, specialist English/American speaking based private schools!

Of course you have a choice but many families come to Bulgaria to embrace the Bulgarian culture and ways and integrating your children into Bulgarian schools with enhance their lives.

Education comes in all forms and embracing a foreign culture and learning within that is still part of a educating process that not many children get an opportunity to go through.

Teachers are teachers because they care about the children, their welfare and education not least in Bulgaria, they certainly don't do it for the money as recent media tell!

Just wanted to put my view on the subject and hope this has helped.

[shelly]

Hi folks, we have only been in Bulgaria for 4-5 weeks we are within the Popovo area, which I must say is fantastic, the people are so helpful and very friendly. We have met other English here and have been able to locate possible schools for our 3 children aged nearly 2 14 and 15. As I understand education is only mandatory for up to 8 years old however there are plenty of schools for children up untill the age of 15 then there are a choice of colleges offering different subjects. Up untill very recently I was very British, however have seen enough of Bulgaria already to know that this is how life should be, non materialistic, Bulgaria has to offer all those thing that families really need and deserve, a very friendly simple life. I have no worries about sending my children to the local schools and at 15 will send them to college, I hope this reply can help and ease any worries that you may have about schooling and education, We have been able sort all our queries regarding education, visas etc locally and without a single worry and within weeks. please reply if you would like more info on moving to Bulgaria....
Shell

[LMS]

Hiya Shell,
I just wanted to post on here to say your reply was so heartwarming and gentle that you have made me more determined to just up and leave the uk.
I have been trifling with the idea for a long while and the education issue has been the biggest stumbling block for me. All we want is family values and to live without the ratrace zoom!
i am putting my home on the market with the contents and just walking away from the stress which has been making me ill. We are a family of myself, hubby, my sister and her three children aged 2,10 & 15, and our children aged 10 and 16 and 18!
We have been looking for a property as we fell in love with bulgaria for its simple beauty, now im not going to worry or waste any more time im going to just move and work the rest out when i get there. \we arnt rich but i believe we are rich in family values already so hope we fit in, \the education side will sort when we are settled, I hope i can get the children into the Bulgarian schooling as i believe this is where they will benefit experiencing the bulgarian life. If you have any advice or hints please pm me as id really appreciate the guidance as yes im very scared !!! :O)

[lorrie123]

Hi

Just read your post great advice

We have a property in Milevo just outside plovdiv and are looking to settle out there spring 2009.
We are taking 5 Kids ages 1ill then be 18, 16, 15, 13, and 3 so reading your post has put mind at rest about schooling if you could give any other info on how your move went I would be appreciative and any tips would be great.

Many thanks

Laura

[Suzee]

We have lived in BG for over a year now in a village 34km from Veliko Tarnovo and thought long and hard about school issues before we came over.

We decided to put the kids into the local village school and if they needed extra tuition we would pay for it, but they've done very well so far. The village school is small (50 children or so), there are gypsy children attending but also a fair amount of Bulgarians too. Our children (11 & 13) are in a class of 8 and therefore do get attention from the teacher (who speaks some english) who was more than happy to have them in the class. Their language skills have improved considerably and they understand all of the lessons and written text now too.

I'd say to anyone looking to move to BG with children look into the area you're planning on moving to and the services available locally. Kids adapt quickly and the Bulgarian education system is slightly behind UK standards - kids don't start school here till 7 years old. Our kids are happy and settled now, like school and get on well with classmates and teachers alike.

[Natasha2311]

Hi everyone

My husband and I are seriously considering moving to Bulgaria. We have a daughter (4) and a son (1)

Could anyone be kind enough to give me some advice and share their experiences with me?

My email is mysecretsparkle (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank you!!! All advice GREATLY recieved xx