Bilingual & International Schools in Paris

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Bilingual schools. We’re going to work our way up from schools for little kiddies to schools for older kids. In France, children under six go to maternelle, which is comparable to nursery, preschool and kindergarten. Some schools have a toute petite section for two-year-olds, but most children start petite section when they are three, or if they’ll turn three before the end of December of that school year. At six, they start l’école élémentaire, or primary school, until age eleven. For those of you with older kids, they will be in collège (age 11 to 14) and lycée professionnel (age 14 to 18).

There are many reasons parents choose bilingual education. Perhaps to follow the American or British curriculum because of plans to return to a home country. Or to make sure English is strong because English proficiency is always a plus in the international marketplace. Whatever your reasons, you should know that these schools are in high demand and have limited places for new students. (Though it’s cake compared to the school placement wars in New York City.) Still, start early! The application deadlines are strict and the application process may require one or more of the following: previous scholastic records, orthographic competence test results, letters of recommendation and of course, application fees.

Not all bilingual schools have the same approach to or intensity of English in the classroom. And the differences can vary greatly: Some teach 50-50 in English-French while others only offer 45 minutes of English per day or a few hours per week. Contact the school directly to find out more about their pedagogy.

Lastly, knowing your budget will help narrow your choices. Tuition can range from under 5K to over 25K per year, with most falling somewhere in the middle. As you might expect, there are additional charges for optionals like the school canteen, annual trips (ski, pony and abroad) or transportation to/from school, where that is offered.

The following cost-range signifies the school’s annual tuition and doesn’t take into consideration application and other school-associated fees or the above-mentioned extras. Note that we take the Full Day option where it’s available. Many maternelles have half-day options for a reduced (though not by half!) annual tuition.


Tuition Key
€  under 6K
€€  6 – 12K
€€€  12 – 18K
€€€€  18K and up 

Les Écoles Maternelles (from ages 2.5 through 6)

Ecole Internationale Bilingue – Monceau (8ème)
Ecole Internationale Bilingue – Lamartine (16ème)
Le Petit Cours du Rocher (8ème)
Horizon Montessori (13ème)
l’Ecole aujourd’hui (14ème)
Le Jardin d’Églantine (Steiner Waldorf) (14ème)
Ecole Jeannine Manuel (15ème)
Plaisir d’enfance Montessori (19ème)

€€ Ecole Montessori Internationale (5ème)
€€ Bilingual Montessori School of Paris (7ème, 8ème, 16ème)
€€ Wikids Wi School International Montessori (9ème)
€€ La Canopee (10ème)
€€ Cours Moliere (12ème)
€€ Sudbury School Paris (Sudbury) (13ème)
€€ Bilingual International School of Paris (15ème)
€€ Ecole Koenig-The American Conservatory (15ème)
€€ First Steps (15ème)
€€ United Nations Nursery School (16ème)
€€ The Little English Montessori School (15ème)
€€ Eurecole (16ème)
€€ Montessori’s Cool (17ème)
€€ La Petite Ecole Bilingue – Stewart International School (17ème)
€€ Le Petit Cours (18ème)
€€ Living School (19ème)
€€ Ecole Bilingue Les Moineaux (16ème)

€€€ Lennen Bilingual School (7ème)
€€€ Canadian Bilingual School of Paris (8ème)
€€€ Ecole Internationale Bilingue – The Victor Hugo School – International curriculum (15ème)

€€€€ International School of Paris (16ème)
€€€€ The British School of Paris (outside Paris in Croissy-sur-Seine)
€€€€ The American School of Paris (outside Paris in Saint-Cloud)

 

Les Écoles Élémentaire (from ages 6 to 11)

Ecole Massillon (4ème)
Ecole Internationale Bilingue – Monceau (8ème)
Ecole Internationale Bilingue – Lamartine (16ème)
l’Ecole Aujourd’hui (14ème)
Ecole Jeannine Manuel (15ème)
Plaisir d’enfance Montessori (19ème)

€€ Wikids Wi School International Montessori (9ème)
€€ La Canopee (10ème)
€€ Cours Moliere (12ème)
€€ Sudbury School Paris (Sudbury) (13ème)
€€ Eurecole (16ème)
€€ La Petite Ecole Bilingue – Stewart International School (17ème)
€€ Le Petit Cours (18ème)
€€ Living School (19ème)
€€ Ecole Bilingue Les Moineaux (16ème)

€€€ Lennen Bilingual School (7ème)
€€€ Ecole Internationale Bilingue – The Victor Hugo School – International curriculum (15ème)

€€€€ Canadian Bilingual School of Paris (8ème)
€€€€ Bilingual International School of Paris (15ème)
€€€€ International School of Paris (16ème)
€€€€ The British School of Paris (outside Paris in Croissy-sur-Seine)
€€€€ The American School of Paris (outside Paris in Saint-Cloud)

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Poppy is an expat writer from Baltimore and the woman behind our "Femme Infidèle" and "Divorce or Die" series. If you want to share any of your experiences, write to Poppy. She loves hearing from other women and trading love and war stories.

51 Comments

  1. Thanks very much for this. This is very useful. We are looking into moving back from Australia to Paris (15eme). Is there any of those schools you would recommend for our daughter (Grande section in Sept 17)? Thanks in advance. JP

    • Hi JP, it depends on your budget, honestly. For grande section, my daughter and I loved the Bilingual Montessori at the American Church. The Lenin school is also there and also wonderful. What are you looking for in terms of a kindergarten for your daughter?

      • Thanks Maggie. Very much appreciated. Just a kindergarten where she can maintain a very good level of English. She is now turning 5 and is almost bilingual. Any other place you would recommend? JP

  2. There’s à great preschool my son is attending. It’s called “little dragons” in the 17th arrondissement. The teachers speak only english to the children.

  3. Hello – We are moving to Paris and I am looking for a bilingual school that offers french immersion support for my daughter who has never studied in French. She is 12 and will be going to 7th grade (5eme). She has been schooled in nyc. Can you recommend any school for upper school (12 to 18) that offer French support for foreigners? Thank you!
    Alexandra

  4. Hello,
    We are moving from London to Paris next month. My daughter is 3 years old and I am searching a bilingual school. She has started a great Montessori school in London and I was hoping to continue with the same methodologies. My concern is at the age of 9 , will we be able to move her to a more academic school like Jeannine Manuel? Anyone has the same experience?

    Thanks

    • Hi Lana, my kids went to the Bilingual Montessori school and I know several of the students there have gone on to Jeannine Manuel successfully. Mine have gone on to EIB Monceau. I’m a huge fan of Montessori myself and wish they had a program through high school (hard to find in Paris!) I think your daughter will be fine. If you have any other questions, please ask!

      • Thanks a lot for your quick response, I would like to know at what age did you switch the schools? Is there a thorough assessment for the kids?

        Many thanks again
        Lana

        • My daughter was six. My son only did the toddler program there. We switched them at the same time. Do you mean an assessment at their new school? Yes, they did have that. A 30min/1hr interview with the directrices of their programs. They had to do it alone. I’ve heard the JM admissions process is quite rigorous.

      • Hello Maggie Kim, We are considering EIB Monceau – the immersion program for our 7 year old. What did you think of the school?

        • We are fans of the school. Obviously there are things we’re not the happiest with—the classrooms are small, there’s a lot of homework—but the teachers really seem to care about the kids and that means a lot. Plus, we love that the kids play in the park for their recess. We have a friend starting their 8 year old in immersion next year. They’re super pleased she was accepted into the program. Oh! And BIENVENUE A PARIS!!!

          • Merci :-)… We actually just accepted a spot at Euroecole in the 16th. We love that they have a trilingual program and the school is five mins from the apartment that we just rented :-). #convenienceisking :-).
            Really looking forward to our new life in Paris … we land July 6th…YIKES!

          • Congrats! I have friends with kids at the school. They like it. And yes #convenienceisking. Welcome!! If you need anything, please ask.

          • Hi Would you mind explaining what you mean by a lot of homework? Every day? If so, how much? I would really appreciate it. Thanks! Mike

  5. Hello, We are looking at maternelles for our daughter and would love to hear more about the Stewart International School. Do you have any first- or second-hand knowledge of it? We visited, but do not know any parents and are looking for a bit of an “inside scoop.”

    • Hi Lili I actually don’t know Stewart International School. Are you part of English Speaking Mums in Paris on Facebook? It’s a good resource here and I’m sure if you ask there, someone will know something. And please share the scoop so we can add it here! Let me know if you have any other questions.

  6. GREAT article!!! As an American in the process of moving to Paris – finding all this information on one page has been very difficult … you just simplified my life tremendously! Thank you 🙂

    • We’re so glad, Chantelle! And if there’s anything else you have questions about, let us know!

  7. Hi we are moving to Paris this summer with our 12 year old daughter who speaks both French and English. A lot of the schools are now full, can you recommend the best areas for state schools and also if you would recommend EIB Monceau or Cours Moliere?

    • I’m so sorry, Liese, I’m only seeing this now. My kids are at EIB Monceau and they love their teachers and classmates. I think Cours Moliere is excellent and if we lived closer to that school, I would definitely have tried to get them in there. Have you had any luck since?

  8. Hummaira babar on

    Hello,
    I’m currently enrolled student of ipag and looking for a school for my daughter who is about 3 years old . Kindly contact me. Tell me about admission and fee procedure by mail. I’m looking for online admission of my daughter soon .

  9. Hi – my son is 7 and daughter is 2. We will be shifting to Paris in March 2018. Any recommendations for bilingual schools in the 17th district for both my kids. My son knows English and very little French – very basic. Thanks!

    • Hi Ritika, EIB Monceau is right near the 17th. They also have an immersion class for kids who don’t speak French yet. HTH.

  10. Hi!

    So glad I stumbled upon your blog! We will be moving to Paris next year and have a four year old daughter (and a baby who would ideally join her at the same school in three years).

    We are looking at ASP and ISP because their costs will be covered by work, and potentially the Victor Hugo school. Our ideal school environment for her is bilingual, nurturing, and not too far from home as it will be her first experience with full day school. She is active and needs space and fresh air after two years in a tiny school in London!

    My work will be in the 7th, and my husband’s in the 17th, so I’m trying to put together the puzzle of school, work locations, and where we would ideally live. Do you have any advice or recommendations? Thank you!

    • If your work is in the 7th, I would seriously consider Bilingual Montessori at Quai D’orsay. They also have a location at the American Cathedral. Really nurturing environment and for play they go on the Berges in front of the school, which is right by the water. Otherwise, EIB is right by the 17th.

  11. This is such a helpful article, thank you! We are moving to Paris in April for 2-3 years with our 2 daughters who will be nearly six and three.I love the sound of EIB monceau and Immersion class as my eldest doesn’t speak any French but they don’t have a space for her before September. Eek. Not sure what to do! It’s tricky moving within the school year. Do you have any experience of Eurecole, ecole Bilingue les moineaux or Prunelle?

    • I have friends with kids at Eurecole and while they liked it, they didn’t love it. They eventually moved their daughters to the American School of Paris. I think German is a mandatory 2nd language at Eurecole (though I might be mistaken on that). I don’t have experience with the other two places unfortunately.

  12. hello,

    We are an English speaking family in Basel Switzerland, and our 5 year old just finished his 2nd year of kindergarten in German, so he is close to being bilingual. he doesn’t speak any French.

    We are moving to Paris this summer and are interested in 2 options: a. an English French bilingual program that would have some kind of immersion program to introduce him to French. or b. similar with German and French.

    Of course a 3rd option would be a trilingual program. We would prefer to live in the city and have the school be in the city.

    would you have any suggestions?
    thank you!

    ps love you blog!

    • Hi Charles. I think if you want to keep up with his German, try Eurecole in the 16th, which also has a trilingual program. EIB has an immersion program for French and it’s bilingual with English otherwise. Do you prefer a classic French pedagogy, the international Bac or something progressive? And welcome to Paris (well, this summer)! Thanks for being here!

      • Thank you again for your advice. We are coming next week to meet with schools and get a sense of things. We would like to keep his German going and are therefore considering Eurocole and Ecole Massillon, as they both seem to offer an hour a day of German.

        Are you able to offer any pros and cons for these two schools?

        Since he doesn’t speak French yet we are hoping that one of these places will have an immersion program.

        Best

        Charles

    • Hello, so my story has evolved, and I have a follow up question

      All, we are considering having our 6 year old son ( who does not speak French (just English and German)), start 1st grade at the public school ‘elementary school de L’arbalete in the 5th.

      We are told they have a special program for children to learn French from scratch and be transitioned slowly into normal classes.

      Do you have feedback on either
      1. this primary School generally or
      2. more specially this kind of French language immersion programs provided by the public schools?

      Thanks

      C

  13. Charles, take a look at the SIS group of schools in Boulogne/Sevres and on line 9 to the West. They offer German-French, and English-French classes. They’re sous contract so sponsored by the Government bit with a lot of autonomy in their curriculum. Bon courage!

  14. Tyralynn Frazier on

    Hello,
    We are going to be in Paris for the Month of June from American. My husband and kids are French citizens. We would like to enroll them in school for the month we are there just to get the language emersion. Do you have any advice on schools that might be willing to admit them? We would like a Montessori school as that is what they are in at home, but I just don’t know if private schools would be willing to accommodate our circumstances. Any advise is very welcome. Thank you

    • Hi! I’d suggest contacting the Montessori schools you’re interested in and simply ask b/c there’s always a possibility they can accommodate your children. Obviously, in June there’s only a few more weeks left of school. How old are your kids? Do they speak French at all? For Montessori, I’d suggest the non-bilingual ones as the bilingual ones will have native Anglophone teachers and kids (as well as French, of course), but if your kids speak English more than French, they’ll naturally gravitate towards all the Anglophones, which is what my daughter did when she went to Bilingual Montessori. Good luck. Feel free to ask more q’s! Thanks

      • Tyralynn Frazier on

        Thanks for the advice. Are there any recommendations for full emersion Montessori schools? I agree that would be the best. I am just not sure where to start in finding recommendations. Thank you again, Tyralynn

  15. Hi. I am looking for a Bilingual School (immersion) that can take my Daughter from 2 years and Son who will be 4. I’ve contacted a Lennen, United Nations and Bilingual International School and so far and they can’t guarantee places for 2018-19 year. Any other goodies? We will be living in the 16eme. (I didn’t realise competition would be fierce! It makes Singapore look easy!)

    • Hi, did you try the Bilingual Montessori School of Paris? They have a 2-yr-old program. In terms of immersion, there’s also EIB (Ecole Internationale Bilingue), which isn’t too far from the 16eme. Eurecole is also nearby.

  16. Manish Mehta on

    We are planning to move to paris in august 18, champigny from India. My two kids age 10 and 12 years.
    I need your help to recommend some schools bilungual.
    My total annual budget for both the kids is about 24000Eur.
    Thanks to privide me advice

  17. hello Maggie, I am french but have lived in NY and London for past 18y. We re moving to Paris this summer and looking for bilingual montessori nurseries/schools in the 15th as our son is 2,5y old. Have you heard of “123monecole” ? any feedback? Would love to join KOENIG but they seem to be super full already. ;-( I also heard LENNEN is great? many many thanks

  18. Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that a new innovative and bilingual school opened in 2017 in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.
    It is called the Lab School Paris. A lab school is a school attached to a research team, very innovative and quite central in Paris 🙂

  19. Sorry if this is a little off topic, but can someone tell me there thoughts on Stanislas? Or give me some hints where I can find reviews on it?

    Thanks

    Charles

  20. Hello
    Interested to see these e mails comments about schools in Paris.
    I am just popping in as I would like to find someone who could give me a feedback of the EIB Etoile in the final years to the International Baccalaureate.
    We will come to Paris with a son arriving in Year 12…
    It is quite challenging and I would be happy to have an inside advice about how involved is the school staff in EIB Etoile in the IB track…
    Thanks a lot in advance for any comment, even basic !
    Aude

  21. Hello
    We will be coming back to Paris with a son in his very last year to the IB – Year 12.
    It is very challenging as the IB is usually considered as a two year course.
    Would someone know from inside the EIB Etoile – the school which prepares to the IB in the 15 th arrondissement- and be able to tell me if we can expect committed teachers and team to help a smooth transition.
    Hard to figure out from the outside how good the school is.
    Thanks a lot for any comments.
    Aude

  22. Really helpful, any input on Cours Moliere ? My kid is 3 yo and speaks french but not english yet… DO you know how much is the monthly tuition $$$ ? Thanks

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