Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon — public French schooling with nine international sections

The Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon is a French public school at 2 place de Montréal, 69007 Lyon. It brings an elementary school, a collège and a lycée together on one Gerland campus.

CSI is co-educational and day-only, from CP to Terminale, roughly ages 6 to 18. It does not provide boarding. The elementary school and collège serve international-section pupils, while the lycée also has other French general-route classes.

CP is the first elementary year, followed by CE1, CE2, CM1 and CM2. Collège is lower secondary, ending in 3e. Lycée is upper secondary: 2de, then 1ère, then Terminale, the final school year.

This is a strong option for a child who can already work at a high level in a section language. It is not an English-medium school with beginner English provision. French remains central to the timetable and qualifications.

How the programme works

All pupils follow the French national curriculum. International-section pupils also study the language and literature of their section. History and geography are partly taught in that language.

CSI lists nine sections: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, Japanese and Chinese. For the Chinese section, mathematics replaces history-geography as the subject partly taught in Chinese.

At primary level, CSI says pupils receive six section-language hours each week. Its general page says 20 hours remain with the French teacher. The Anglophone primary page says 18 hours, so families should ask the school to reconcile those figures.

At collège, the published model adds four weekly hours of section language and literature. It also adds two hours of history-geography in the section language, or mathematics for Chinese-section pupils.

Pupils in an international section during 3e may take the Diplôme national du brevet, option internationale. This is the ordinary French brevet plus two section-specific oral examinations. Each special oral requires at least 10/20.

In 2de, pupils follow an international section. In 1ère and Terminale, the route prepares for the Baccalauréat français international, or BFI.

The BFI is a special route within the French baccalauréat général, not the International Baccalaureate (IB). It includes advanced language and literature and a subject such as history-geography taught partly in the section language. Another component, connaissance du monde, combines study of contemporary global issues with a project.

Anglophone pupils choose the British or American BFI route in 1ère. The school says Oxford AQA and the College Board respectively support quality assurance alongside the French ministry.

The Anglophone Section also starts a two-year International GCSE (IGCSE) English Language course in 3e, with the examination at the end of 2de. Pupils admitted directly to the 2de classe d’accueil, the class for new entrants, follow a separate English literature course instead.

CSI also offers Abibac, a different Franco-German route leading to the French baccalauréat and German Abitur. Do not confuse it with the German BFI route.

Language level and entry fit

Primary applicants must already speak one of the nine section languages fluently. Anglophone applicants at every level need age-appropriate, near-native English across speaking, listening, reading and writing.

The section teaches in English; it does not teach beginner English. The rest of the French curriculum still demands growing competence in French.

CSI provides French integration classes for some new arrivals. FLS means French as a second language; FLE means French as a foreign language. Support is available in primary, collège and 2de. The school decides when a pupil can leave it.

An applicant to 2de with French below B2, an upper-intermediate level on the European language framework, should contact the Anglophone Section before applying. The linked admissions guide says non-French-speaking applicants cannot enter 1ère or Terminale because intensive French support is unavailable at that stage.

Terminale entry is only considered for a pupil who has already completed 1ère in a BFI programme elsewhere. A pupil cannot begin the two-year BFI in Terminale.

The admissions guide asks families to disclose disabilities or health conditions affecting the tests in advance. It does not publish the school’s wider support capacity or campus accessibility. Ask for a written, case-specific assessment before applying.

Admissions and testing

Demand exceeds capacity, and passing a section test does not itself secure a place. The CSI admissions commission makes the final school decision across all nine sections.

The school publishes four priority groups:

1. Children connected to partner institutions, including Interpol, IARC, Collegium and the diplomatic corps.
2. Non-French-speaking children arriving from abroad.
3. French-speaking children arriving from abroad.
4. Children already educated in France, according to the current primary page.

The linked Anglophone guide calls the fourth group non-French-speaking children already residing in France. Its current “before applying” page says other children already living in France. Ask which definition applies to your child.

There is no sibling priority in the Anglophone Section. Year-group vacancies also matter. In primary, CSI published 96 total CP places across the nine sections for 2026–27. CE1 to CM2 openings depended on departures.

Anglophone primary tests cover speaking and listening. Reading and writing begin at CE1. All CP candidates also take French and mathematics; older candidates take those tests if they are outside French education.

For collège and lycée, the Anglophone process has two rounds. An online standardised English test comes first. Shortlisting then considers the result, admission priorities and available places.

The second round includes oral and written English. Candidates outside metropolitan France may be interviewed online and take the written test under supervision at their current school. Some applicants also take French assessments.

For public lycée entry, families must also follow the regional education authority’s assignment process. They must list the relevant route in AFFELNET, the system used to allocate secondary-school places. A favourable section assessment or bonus does not guarantee the final assignment.

Abibac has its own process. The published 2026 deadline was 21 May 2026 and has passed. CSI had not published a 2027 deadline when this guide was researched.

Dates: use the old cycle only as a planning guide

The published 2026–27 application cycle has ended. It should not be treated as the timetable for 2027 entry.

For primary, families could request a form from 5 January 2026. The complete emailed dossier was due by 3 April. Tests ran on 17, 24, 25 and 26 June, with results on 3 July.

For Anglophone secondary entry, the dossier deadline was 12 March 2026. Testing for candidates in metropolitan France took place on 22 April. Overseas testing ran from late March into early May.

The section’s current enquiry form can be used by families moving during the school year. It is an enquiry, not a late-entry offer. Ask about an actual vacancy before making relocation plans.

What the Anglophone Section costs

French public education does not charge tuition. However, APESA, the Anglophone parent association, charges for the additional Anglophone Section programme.

The non-refundable application fee is €200 for primary and €250 for secondary. It applies to every application, including a repeat application.

Family-paid annual fees, 2026–27

Level	Annual section fee	Payment at enrolment	Remaining balance	Three-instalment option
Primary	€2,438	€243.80	€2,194.20	€731.40 each
Collège	€2,438	€243.80	€2,194.20	€731.40 each
2de	€3,024	€302.40	€2,721.60	€907.20 each
1ère and Terminale BFI	€3,414	€341.40	€3,072.60	€1,024.20 each

The optional 2de Drama course costs another €1,220. The table also adds a €95 IGCSE examination charge in 2de.

Ask whether that €95 applies to direct-entry 2de pupils. The programme page says they do not take IGCSE, while the fee table does not state an exception.

Employer-paid or partly reimbursed annual fees, 2026–27

Level	Annual section fee	Published 10% payment	Published balance	Published quarterly payment
Primary	€4,145	€414	€3,730	€1,243
Collège	€4,145	€414	€3,730	€1,243
2de without Drama	€5,141	€514	€4,627	€1,542
2de with Drama	€7,214	€721	€6,493	€2,164
1ère and Terminale BFI	€5,804	€580	€5,223	€1,741

The employer table contains rounding inconsistencies. Some listed deposits and balances differ from the annual total by one euro; repeated rounded instalments can increase the discrepancy. Request a reconciled payment schedule. The €95 IGCSE charge is additional.

The 10% enrolment payment is deducted from the annual fee. It is therefore a prepayment, although the section page calls it a deposit. The website does not state whether it is refundable.

Mid-year entrants pay 100% through 31 December, 60% from 1 January to 31 March, and 30% from 1 April. The published fees include section teaching, activities, classroom technology and library access.

Meals, transport, trips, stationery and some workbooks or reference books are extra. Current canteen and transport prices were not published in the sources reviewed.

The school’s general page says every section works with a parent association. It specifically identifies teaching and admission tests in the Anglophone and Japanese sections as fee-paying. Confirm the exact arrangement directly with any other section.

Before paying the 10%, request the current APESA contract. The public pages do not explain financial aid, withdrawal liability, refunds or late-payment consequences.

Residence and daily practicalities

Admission does not create a right to live in France. A non-EU family must arrange the appropriate residence status independently.

France-Visas has a specific long-stay route for a school-going minor whose parents remain abroad. It requires school enrolment, accommodation, financial evidence, insurance, parental authorisation and a responsible person in France.

That route is not intended for a child whose parents already live in France. CSI has no boarding provision, so any accommodation and local adult arrangements remain the family’s responsibility.

Use the Lyon guide for local comparisons and the France guide for the wider public-school and residence context.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.