Whilst growing up in England I was surrounded by racism and discrimination constantly. Although I did not like or condone it, it did not effect me so, like so many others, I ignored it and got on with my life.

Making the move to Quebec has been a huge learning experience and a disturbing wake up call. I had not realised that institutional discrimination could have such a tangible effect on the lives of ordinary individuals. Naive I know, but sadly true.

By far the most disturbing thing is that the discrimination is aimed at children. For more than two years now my family and I have been fighting running battles with the Quebec education system. My eldest son, a bright and intelligent boy, has not been given the chance to prove this because of a language barrier. Now, I don't know about you but I was brought up in education system where grades counted. Taking a report home to your parents with low grades was not recommended. I can remember the disappointment and sometimes anger on my parents' faces as they read my less then inspiring reports. Grades are highlighted even more in the North American system as they run the Honour Roll and kids are recognised and rewarded for good grades. So, of course, we advise our son to work hard and make the most of his intelligence and to strive for good grades.

But he did not start off on the same level playing field as the rest of the kids at his school. He did not start speaking French until he was thirteen years old. A full thirteen years behind his peers. So, as hard as he might try, he just can't quite make the grade; in particular, with the Language rich subjects such as French and History. Is there any help or support put in place to help a child through this? No. Is there an equivalency program where, say, his intelligence is assessed aurally by a bilingual teacher and his marks adjusted accordingly in the first couple of years? No.

The kids are thrown in at the deep end, with no life jackets, to sink or swim. Put yourself in their shoes. Would this worry you a little? Would this "stress you out"?

On top of this you have the nationalistic attitudes which are acute in Quebec. These attitudes are held by many of the French kids and, more importantly, by some of the teaching staff. The teachers get frustrated by the lack of French spoken by our kids. Then, instead of being encouraged, they are ridiculed and, in the adolescent years, ridicule can have a marked effect on their mental well being.

As adults we come up with throw away phrases like, "Kids are more resilient than you think" and, "They'll benefit in the long run". These are designed to make us feel better while our kids are just thinking "Why are you doing this to me".

On planet Quebec, for immigrants, the idea a getting good grades is cast aside. This is replaced by the romantic idea that, as long as the kids learn to speak French, he or she will have a wonderful, successful and fulfilling life thereafter. Of course, they will move to a village in Quebec where only French is spoken and never leave. They will marry a French speaking Canadian, have lots of French speaking kids and live happy ever after. They would never consider leaving for Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, the USA or, God forbid the UK, even though this is what the system is designed to do - Drive Anglophones out of the French school system and out of Quebec.

In our case we have tried very hard to run with the system but, inevitable, the whole sorry situation has come to a head. We have tried reasoning, discussing and shouting but all to no avail. The school merely hides behind "C'est la loi". So shame on them.

Before you judge, put yourself in the child's position; you have been taken from your extended family and friends to another country. Initially, you are allowed to attend an English school and, just as you have established yourself and as puberty is setting in, you are ripped out of this school and dumped into a place where very few people speak your language. You are then assessed academically against these kids and no account is taken that you don't speak the language you are being taught in. This is all done against a background where you are constantly being ridiculed for your lack of French and your accent. I ask again, how would you feel?

It is against my nature to give up but, sadly, in this case we have no choice. It has been a hell of a fight but the battle is lost. A kid from England denied access to the English school system. How absurd is that!

So what next? Well, it looks like a private school will be getting an extra $10,000 this year. Sad, very Sad.

Anon