Schooling.

HI,
I don't know muchn about schooling in Bulgaria.
Advice is stay where you are....
Why would anyone want to learn Bulgarian?

John M

Your children should pick it up quite fast if they are exposed daily to the language. We have something called pre-school kindergarten (i'm not sure if there's an equivalent in your country). This is like a year to prepare for school. In Bulgarian its called 'предучилищна група'.

Thank you. Would they allow me to enroll the children instantly after I have purchased a property ? Thank you

I'm in my 20s so don't really know much about all the details about this topic. My GF is Canadian and we live in Bulgaria but don't have a child yet. We've had plenty of issues with people not speaking good enough English here (especially in the administration!) and that makes things slower to arrange. But it's definitely possible given you have the patience to arrange things. I'm not sure about the required documentation but if you have a valid residence permit and can communicate that with them *in my opinion* it should be fine.

There's a really good explanation of all the details here: https://purvite7.bg/zapisvane-v-prvi-kl … -da-znaem/ (use google translate, as it is in Bulgarian but the details are pretty clear IMO)

Also growing up as a Bulgarian, I'v had plenty of classmates coming from other countries. Most of them were from Czechia, Russia and some from more of the western parts. But I grew up in a big city and studied in respected schools. The children blended in quite well IMO so no problem on that part. Bulgarian kids who are raised by some not so great parents can be quite rude so there's gonnna be some culture shock but IMO this is the same everywhere..in Canada my gf complained a lot about arab children's behavior so everywhere there's always something that's not quite right...but IMO Bulgarian schools are quite fine

You don’t know how helpful you’ve been thanks a lot. I’m in my 20s too! Not early 20s though unfortunately ! Have a great day

Charlotte, you may want to try some of the Facebook forums as well for this topic, as I think there could be more expats with school age children there. I know at least one British mother whose daughter was 5 when they moved. It seems she's integrated into the Bulgarian school system without any problem and is happily bilingual. Children younger than 10 tend to do far better than adults picking up new languages.

One thing that's important from a linguistic point of view - especially with the littlies who haven't established their English language skills yet - only speak English to them at home, don't try to speak Bulgarian or teach them Bulgarian unless you are completely fluent yourselves! Trying to talk to them in a language you don't speak well can hinder their language development. They'll pick up Bulgarian quickly enough from the TV, Bulgarian children, Bulgarians they meet in everyday life when you're out and about with them, and at preschool. Kids need to learn from mother tongue speakers.

Hi Charlotte - we moved out in December as had the same views as yours re life and have two children 9 and 12. We have decided that they need to learn Bulgarian before attending local schools as from what we are told the schools do not teach or cater for those that do not speak the language which makes it difficult.

Obviously the children if young enough should pick it up quite quickly but for us we have decided due to Covid issues to sign up to an On- Line school at present which covers the English curriculum. PM me if you want more info.

Rgds,
Paul

Thanks so much for everyone’s replies I have been starting to loose hope today. I spoke with some one regarding getting the valid D residency document apparently having a business and buying property isn’t enough after brexit and they said I would need a high school diploma to change over my driving license ? Is this true ? I’m British so is my husband and we don’t have those documents. Thanks again for your responses.

Also would love info on the schooling thank you.

Hi,

Education is a tricky part, almost everywhere. In Bulgaria the education system works the following way:

Starting from the age of 2 yrs, small kids can go to kindergartens for 4/5 years (groups 1 to 4). The last two group are considered pre-school, where kids learn the alphabet, numbers, and some basic calculations, etc. Kindergartens also offer sports - e.g. football. gymnastics, folk dances and foreign languages groups, primarily English, but sometimes also Japanese, Chinese, German, French etc.

After reaching the age of 6/7 kids will enroll to schools, either public or private. Primary schooling is divided into 2 parts - 1-4 grade and 5-7 grade. In the first part the kids normally have 1 primary teacher, 1 afternoons teacher and different teachers for sports, music, foreign languages etc. In these years (grades 1-4( the most important thing is to select a good primary teacher, since your kids will be spending most of their time with that teacher. On the second place is selecting a good school, since this would result in better equipment in the classrooms, different extra activities, different possibilities for foreign languages, arts, music and sports ( e.g. not every school has its own swimming pool). Neighbourhood is also important, just like everywhere in the world.

When going to 5 grade (actually at the end of 4 th grade), there's a state exam - the so called External Evaluation. The the kids would sit 4 exams in Mathematics, Bulgarian, Men and Nature, Men and Society. Based on the results, they can enroll to a different schools if they like, for the second part of their schooling, or decide to stay in the same school.

The second part of the primary schooling system encompasses grades 5, 6 and 7. The difference here is that the students will receive different teachers for different subjects and there will be more subjects included - e.g. like History, Biology, Chemistry, Literature, Arts, Music etc. Also there's a possibility for differentiation between schools with certain profiles - e.g. math schools, language schools, etc. At the end of 7 th grade there's another External Evaluation, which is a basis for applying/enrolling to s

The next to come is the Secondary schools (High schools). There students would apply on the basis of the results from their last External Evaluation, but some specialized high schools might have additional exam - e.g in mathematics, Bulgarian, Biology, etc. Secondary schools offer choices between Math schools, Language school, IT school, Construction school, Mechanical schools and different other professional focusing. Those schools start normally from 8 to 12 th grade. At the end there's once again a National External Evaluation, results of which are a basis for applying to a university/college.

e.g. one of my kids went to a good primary school in the center of Sofia, cos it was close to my work and friends recommended one of the basic teachers there. Then he applied for a math school for 5 to 7 grade at a different school. And from this year he has enrolled at 8 th grade to a German language high school.

In your case you will have no problems with the smaller kids. However the 6 yrs old will have one year to learn Bulgarian and go to Bulgarian public school which is actually enough.

Private schools work pretty much the same way.

Also there are a number of "external schools", that do not follow the Bulgarian schooling system. Some of these are the French school in Sofia, The German school at the German embassy in Sofia, the Danish high school, etc. Of course these cannot be found in every city.

Education in Bulgaria is compulsory (till 10 th grade) and free of charge for the public schools, Kindergartens have a small fee.

A bit long, but a nice clarification for a foreigner ...

Charlotte, unfortunately residency, driver's licences, etc are all a lot more complicated for Brits since Brexit, but no more complicated than it is for other non-EU citizens. It might be worth asking the residency question on a different thread so that anyone non-EU or Brits who've gotten their D visa since Brexit can chime in.

For us, a few years off retirement age, we may just wait till we retire to go for the retirement visa. Obviously that's not an option for you, but there may be other ways you can get the visa.

$%^& Covid stopping us buying a property and getting residency sorted out last year.

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@Ozzy183a hiya we are looking into online schooling  for our 6,4 & 3 year olds as we are hoping to buy a house there within the next 6 months. could you pm the info on this please when you have time, struggling to find much info online. Thanks 

Hi Charlotte - we moved out in December as had the same views as yours re life and have two children 9 and 12. We have decided that they need to learn Bulgarian before attending local schools as from what we are told the schools do not teach or cater for those that do not speak the language which makes it difficult.

Obviously the children if young enough should pick it up quite quickly but for us we have decided due to Covid issues to sign up to an On- Line school at present which covers the English curriculum. PM me if you want more info.

Rgds,
Paul
-@Ozzy183a

Hi Paul

Greetings. Can you please guide me online bulgarian learning of English speaking kids, before joining Public schools in bulgaria? Would be great, if you sahre some contact details as well? Thanks

@seanoblighe62 Wow... Are you ignorant or what?

Not only is speaking another language than your mother tongue perfect for your brain, but when living in a country where they speak another language it is helpful. More than.

@seanoblighe62 why would anyone want to live in another country..without learning the language..its oh so helpful.

Good luck everyone..btw.i used

BULGARIAN 4 BRITS

its a great learning book..with a C.D.

And i found it invaluable..