Two years ago my close friend Tom phoned from his home in Australia to tell me of a plan he and his wife Sian had just ‘hatched’. For several months they had been discussing taking an extended trip and now the decision was made; the family would be spending a year in France. It was time for their two children – Elise and Gabe – to get a feel of European culture and, importantly, to learn a second language. 

Having settled all their matters domestic, navigated through the hoops of French bureaucracy and now travelled across the world, last week the family arrived here in Brittany and within four days their children had started school. Watching the family walk down a tiny road to the village primary school in Tréguennec (see illustration) and then being greeted with warmth by a group of parents and children standing at the school gate, was very special. Their great adventure had begun for real and already they were being embraced by the local community!   

In 2017, Tom and Sian, and a very tiny Elise, had left England to start a new life in Australia. At the time, for Tom – then a young doctor training in a hospital in the UK – work was becoming both difficult and depressing as all around he could see worsening morale, conditions and standards of services in the NHS. While he loved its ideals, he could not see the NHS offering him realistic career prospects. Moreover, the lure of Australia, where opportunities as a health professional were so much better, had become difficult to resist. For Sian, a lawyer happily working in the UK, the attraction of a move to Australia was more obvious – most of her close family lived there! Importantly, the move has been a success but now a ‘European’ year for the children felt right.

I met Tom almost twenty years ago when I was working at St George’s Medical School. At the time, Tom was a ‘mature’ medical student having done a first degree in maths at Cambridge. For three months I was his tutor seeing him for two hours each week with eight or so other students. I have kept up with a handful of my students and so it has been with Tom. While he was still a student we would often chat together and over the years, we have become good friends. What it is that makes for friendships is difficult to define. In Tom’s case the basic elements are clear; Tom, like all my friends is a left-wing atheist and a thoughtful and sympathetic listener.  But there were other elements  – it was soon clear that as a medical student he was most unusual – it was a pleasure to meet a student who was reflective and in no way ‘pushy’ or over confident. With his demeanour and astute mind we ‘clicked’, and that friendship has grown ever since.

One reason for his original phone call was to ask me a favour and saying ‘Yes’ was a given. Without question, we – Rohan knows Tom well – would offer all the help we could. To obtain a visa to stay for a year in France the French authorities required the name and address of someone with a home in France who could act as a quasi ‘sponsor’. As requested, the necessary signed ‘attestation’ was sent and it worked! Importantly, in those early conversations Tom and Sian had yet to decide where they would stay in France – Biarritz was one possibility. But that was not to be.

Over several conversations we suggested that if the family lived in our house in Tréguennec during term-time while we were in London, the children might then be able to enrol in the local ‘École Publique’ which is small, just a walk away from our front door and has a very good reputation. After much correspondence and trips by us to the Town Hall, everything was formalised. 

As they walked to school that first day, the relief and pleasure I felt reminded me that had they chosen Biarritz it would have been so very different, for me so very empty. Moreover, their presence reminded me of the courage the parents had shown to make the year’s trip. Some might see the break as foolhardy. I see it as exciting, brave and selfless, and being close to them and contributing to their adventure has been a delight. The children are very lucky, but of course they all deserve congratulations

The Illustration shows a photo of Tom and Sian walking their two children Elise and Gabe to the primary school in Tréguennec. It was their first day and they will be there for the whole of the next school year. 

For help writing this blog I would like to thank Dominic, Tom, Sian, Rohan and Vivien.