Choosing a school in France

Cities: Paris, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse

In France, école privée means a privately run school, but it does not tell you who pays its teachers, which curriculum it follows or how pupils take national examinations. Those distinctions matter more than the label.

A local public school deserves consideration alongside private and international options. It may be the strongest choice for a family staying in France, particularly when the child can learn comfortably in French. A bilingual or international school may make more sense when a move is temporary, a child needs immediate access to lessons in another language, or continuity with an existing curriculum is important.

Instruction is compulsory for children living in France from age three to sixteen, regardless of nationality. Home education requires authorisation under specified conditions. A separate training obligation applies from sixteen to eighteen; school and apprenticeship are among the ways to meet it. See the official guidance on compulsory instruction, home education and training for 16–18-year-olds.

What sous contrat and hors contrat mean

Sous contrat means that a private school has a contract with the State. The State pays teachers, and the school must admit pupils without discrimination based on origin, opinion or belief. It can retain its own religious or educational character. That does not guarantee a place: the school still has an admissions process and limited capacity.

The two contract types are not identical. A contrat d’association requires teaching in accordance with public-school rules and programmes. A contrat simple uses the public programmes and timetable rules as its reference. The latter is restricted to nursery and primary schools and establishments educating young people with disabilities. Ask which contract applies to your child’s classes. The ministry explains these arrangements in its guide to private schools.

Many sous-contrat schools have a Catholic identity. Ask separately about religious education, worship, participation requirements and arrangements for children of other faiths or none. A description of the school’s heritage does not answer those practical questions.

Hors contrat means that the school has no such contract. It has greater freedom over teaching methods and programmes, but it remains subject to State inspection. A school can generally apply for a contract after five years of operation; obtaining one is not automatic. Do not assume that a Montessori, bilingual or small independent school is sous contrat simply because it prepares pupils for French examinations. The ministry’s private-school guidance covers inspection and the conditions for contracting.

There is a concrete examination difference at lycée. Pupils preparing the general or technological Bac at a hors-contrat school normally register as candidats individuels—individual candidates. They take separate assessments for the component otherwise covered by continuous school assessment, as well as the final examinations. Ask who handles registration and how the school prepares pupils for those assessments. Official guidance for individual candidates.

If a later transfer into the public system is possible, discuss the entry procedure with the receiving authority before committing. A school’s teaching approach and the administrative recognition of its pupils’ work are separate questions.

International does not describe a single curriculum

An international section combines French schooling with substantial teaching in a partner language. It may sit within a public school or a private one. Check the language requirements and selection process for that section, not just the main school’s admissions page.

The Baccalauréat français international (BFI) is an international option within the French general baccalauréat. Pupils prepare it in Première and Terminale, the final two lycée years. It is not the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Discuss entry during Seconde or earlier, because the required language level and subject choices need planning. Ministry explanation of the BFI.

Other schools follow British, American or International Baccalaureate programmes. The IB Diploma is a separate upper-secondary qualification; Abibac combines the French baccalauréat and German Abitur. Ask which qualification your child would actually take, which subjects are available, and how that combination meets the requirements of possible future universities.

For an English-medium school, also ask how French is taught and used beyond language lessons. A child may need English for academic continuity while still wanting French-speaking friendships and activities locally.

Understanding the year groups

• Maternelle, usually ages 3–6: Petite, Moyenne and Grande Section. Ask how the school helps a young child understand routines and make friends when French is new.
• Élémentaire, usually ages 6–11: CP, CE1, CE2, CM1 and CM2. Reading, writing and numeracy become central. Ask what additional French support is available and whether it replaces other lessons.
• Collège, usually ages 11–15: Sixième, Cinquième, Quatrième and Troisième. The vie scolaire team deals with attendance, supervision and much of the day-to-day support outside lessons. Find out whom your teenager can approach when something goes wrong.
• Lycée, usually ages 15–18: Seconde, Première and Terminale. General, technological and vocational routes serve different interests and plans. Discuss subject choices and qualification requirements before deciding that a particular lycée is the right fit.

International schools may use different year names. Give admissions your child’s date of birth, current year group and school reports rather than assuming that similarly numbered grades are equivalent.

How to organise the search

There is no single national private-school application deadline. Use the school’s published calendar for the intended entry year. Separate the application deadline, language testing, decision date and payment deadline: they are different commitments.

For a September start, checking schools in the preceding autumn gives you time to gather documents and understand entry points such as CP, Sixième and Seconde. Some processes continue into winter and spring; others close earlier. The regional examples below include completed 2026 admission dates to show what must be checked, not to predict the next cycle.

If you are relocating during the school year, say so in your first enquiry. Include the arrival date, children’s ages, languages and current curriculum. Ask about actual vacancies and whether an offer depends on assessment or further documents. A waiting-list place is not an enrolment offer.

Before settling on an area to live, test the school journey at the relevant time of day. Check the bus, lunch, supervised study (étude) and collection arrangements. These determine whether the school is manageable for the whole family, especially when siblings attend different sites.

Schools and regional comparisons

The examples below are starting points, not a complete directory or a report of which schools families visit together. Compare schools that could genuinely meet the same child’s needs. A public international lycée beginning at Seconde is not an alternative nursery for a three-year-old.

Paris and the western suburbs

École Jeannine Manuel is worth considering for bilingual French–English education with BFI and IB routes in Paris’s 15th arrondissement. Its 2026–27 campaign closed on 27 August 2026; the school announced that 2027–28 applications open on 22 September 2026. Families outside France have a limited waiting-list exception for the closed cycle, explained in the profile. Do not treat that exception as a promise of a place.

For French sous-contrat schooling, compare the secular École alsacienne in the 6th with schools whose Catholic identity is part of the choice. These include Jesuit Saint-Louis de Gonzague, also called Franklin, Stanislas and Saint-Jean de Passy. Stanislas also has lycée boarding. Ask each school about admissions, religious participation and the support available to your particular child.

Lycée Henri-IV is public, not private. Check its current allocation and admissions rules; reputation alone does not establish eligibility. The Paris guide helps organise the wider comparison.

In the western suburbs, Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye offers French schooling with international sections and BFI routes. It should be compared on curriculum and language demands, not simply on proximity to English-medium schools.

The British School of Paris in Croissy offers a British route. The American School of Paris in Saint-Cloud is an English-medium alternative; its published 2026/27 charges include a €12,200 capital assessment from Grade 1, so tuition alone is not the first-year budget. The International School of Paris offers an IB route. Ermitage International School in Maisons-Laffitte adds bilingual and IB options. Check the relevant programme and campus before arranging visits across this large area.

Lyon

Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon, on Place de Montréal, is public and has nine language sections. Its 2026–27 admissions are closed. It is the more relevant starting point if you want French schooling with a strong partner language and your child meets the section’s entry requirements.

International School of Lyon, on Chemin du Grand Roule, is a private English-medium alternative. Its 2026–27 fees distinguish company-funded and privately funded pupils. Its middle-school curriculum is developed in-house, not an authorised IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). The Lyon guide sets out the practical comparison.

Lille

École Jeannine Manuel Lille, on rue Albert Bailly in Marcq-en-Barœul, offers bilingual sous-contrat schooling from Petite Section. Boarding starts in Sixième. It suits a family seeking continuity across age groups or needing boarding for an older child.

Lycée International Montebello, on boulevard Montebello, is a public lycée with international sections from Seconde. The paper application for September 2026 closed on 11 February. It is a secondary-school comparison, not a substitute for Jeannine Manuel’s primary provision. See the Lille guide.

Bordeaux

International School 33, on avenue de la Poterie in Gradignan, offers private schooling from age two with IB programmes. The fee FAQ reviewed for the profile is labelled 2025–2026. Ask for the current schedule rather than using those figures as a 2026/27 quotation.

Lycée François Magendie, on rue des Treuils, has public American and Spanish international sections from Seconde. Its 2026 tests for Première BFI took place on 1 April. Check separately the procedure for your child’s intended entry year. See the Bordeaux guide.

Toulouse

International School of Toulouse, on Allée de l’Herbaudière in Colomiers, teaches in English from ages three to eighteen and has no boarding. Its 2026–27 tuition table has separate monthly categories; an Airbus-related rate must not be assumed to apply to an independently funded family. The canteen figures reviewed are still labelled 2025–2026.

Lycée International Victor Hugo, on boulevard Victor Hugo in Colomiers, offers a public British international section from Seconde. The 2026 application deadline was 13 February. For a lycée-age child, compare its French curriculum and language requirements with Toulouse’s English-medium provision. See the Toulouse guide.

Aix-en-Provence

International Bilingual School of Provence, at Domaine des Pins in Luynes, admits day pupils from age two and boarders from Sixième. Its 2026/27 fee table distinguishes day attendance, weekly boarding and full boarding. Choose the relevant arrangement before comparing costs.

Lycée International Georges Duby, on rue Georges Duby, offers public international and Abibac routes from Seconde. Its 2026 open day was 1 April. It is a useful comparison for older pupils seeking French schooling with an international qualification route. See the Aix guide.

France also has accredited European Schools. Use the European Schools’ official directory to distinguish these from other schools using “European” in their name, and check their own admission and language-section rules.

Our take

Choose local public or sous-contrat schooling if French-language integration and continuity in France are your priorities, provided the school can support your child’s starting point. Choose an international section if your child can manage French schooling and wants to sustain another language at a demanding academic level.

Choose an English-medium or other foreign-system school when curriculum continuity makes the move more manageable. Before paying, confirm the complete cost, the actual qualification route and the arrangements for learning French.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.