French schooling in Istanbul
Pierre Loti offers the homologated French curriculum from petite section to Terminale. Children attend Beyoğlu through CM1, then move to Tarabya for CM2 and secondary school. Its 2026/27 admissions campaign is closed, while 2027/28 dates and current tuition remain unpublished.
Lycée Français Pierre Loti is a private, co-educational day school following the French national curriculum. It covers petite section, the first preschool year, through Terminale, the final lycée year.
The school is conventionné within the Agency for French Education Abroad, known as AEFE. The current AEFE directory marks every level from petite section to Terminale as homologué by the French education ministry.
Homologation confirms that the curriculum and school organization meet French-system requirements. It also supports continuity into schools in France or other homologated French schools. It is more specific than a general claim of being “international.”
Pierre Loti divides pupils between two sites by year group:
CM2 is the final year of French primary school, but Pierre Loti places it at Tarabya. A child therefore changes campus before entering collège. The school describes the sites as approximately 20 kilometres apart.
This split deserves early planning when siblings attend different stages. Ask which entrance applies, because the primary rules give a separate CM2 pupil entrance near the Tarabya site.
Pierre Loti does not publish boarding, homestay or school guardianship. A pupil needs a workable local home and adult care arrangement. Families should assess housing against the assigned campus, not against “central Istanbul” in general.
The school follows the French sequence of maternelle, élémentaire, collège and lycée. Pupils may take the diplôme national du brevet after collège. The lycée offers the French baccalauréat général, not a vocational or technological baccalauréat.
The current curriculum page describes the baccalauréat as 40% continuous assessment and 60% final examinations. Pupils choose specialities during lycée, subject to the school’s live timetable and provision.
The French and English versions of the curriculum page do not list exactly the same specialities. Families should therefore request the current subject grid before choosing Seconde or Première.
Pierre Loti offers an English European section from Seconde through Terminale. It combines reinforced English with history-geography taught partly in English.
The European section is capped at 24 pupils. Applications are made during 3e and selection considers reports, English and history-geography results, motivation, engagement and attendance. The school expects a three-year commitment.
Successful pupils can receive the baccalauréat’s “section européenne” indication when they meet the required conditions. This route is not an international section and does not lead to the French Baccalaureate International, or BFI.
The school website says it is considering a BFI route. That statement is not evidence that BFI is currently offered.
French is the school’s main language of instruction and communication. The programme also gives Turkish and English structured places in the timetable.
In maternelle, Turkish is taught for two hours weekly in petite and moyenne sections. The published allocation becomes 1.5 hours in grande section. English begins in grande section with 1.5 hours weekly.
In elementary school, the published language block includes English and Turkish. Turkish groups are organized at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The school also describes subject content taught through English under the French EMILE approach.
The curriculum page still describes the CM1 and CM2 EMILE expansion as planned for September 2025. Because that wording was not updated, families should confirm its present scope by year group.
At collège, English is the first modern foreign language. Pupils receive four hours in 6e and three hours in later collège years. Spanish or German can be taken as a second modern language.
Turkish remains compulsory for all collège pupils for two hours weekly, with level grouping. Optional enhanced-language study is listed in later collège years.
At lycée, pupils can continue several modern languages and may add one as an optional third language. The European section adds advanced English and history-geography through English.
The public admissions pages do not give a minimum French level for new entrants. They also do not explain whether older beginners can receive enough French support to enter their requested year.
Families moving from a non-French curriculum should request a written placement and language plan. This is especially important in collège and lycée, where French supports both continuous assessment and final examinations.
The latest published ordinary campaign was for 2026/27. It ran from 20 February to 1 May 2026 and is now closed.
As of 4 September 2026, the school has not published its ordinary 2027/28 application window. It has not published a general late-entry or waiting-list route for the current year either.
Do not shift the 2026 dates forward by one year. Ask whether the requested grade accepts an exceptional current-year application, and when the 2027/28 campaign will open.
New families create an account in EDUKA. A legal representative opens the pupil file, enters the family details and uploads the required evidence. Existing families receive separate sibling instructions by email.
The application guide gives these 2026/27 preschool birth-year bands:
These bands are evidence for that entry year only. The school has not yet published the corresponding 2027/28 bands.
The file requests identity, nationality, family and schooling information. Families should declare every nationality and put French nationality first for a dual-national child, as the guide instructs.
Separated or divorced parents may need the custody judgment and the other parent’s schooling authorization. The exact evidence depends on the family circumstances shown in the portal.
Applicants must download, sign and upload the financial rules and accommodation declaration. Every section must show as complete, and the parent must then use the final submission control.
The confirmation email only shows that the request was transmitted. It is not an offer. The guide says submitted files are processed chronologically and the decision is sent by email.
The school states clearly that pre-registration does not guarantee admission. It does not publish selection priorities, capacity by year, assessments or rules for transfers from non-French curricula.
No general nationality exclusion appears on the public admissions pages. The old fee document uses different nationality bands, but a price category is not an admission entitlement.
The application portal includes fields for pupils with additional educational needs. Families should disclose diagnoses, current plans, specialist reports and required adjustments before accepting a place.
The school also has a public PREI inclusion page. However, that page does not describe staffing, therapies, classroom support, funded hours or the level of need the school can accommodate.
No public admissions document defines French-language support, English support or additional-needs capacity. Ask who delivers support, how often, at what cost, and whether provision continues at both campuses.
The available primary rules describe a nurse during school hours, emergency exercises and individual health arrangements for allergies or chronic conditions. They also prohibit corporal and collective punishment.
Visitors must identify themselves, exchange identification for a badge and announce their purpose. Younger pupils are released only to parents, authorized adults or transport supervisors.
The school’s public fee page still links only to the 2025/26 financial rules. The EDUKA application guide shows a portal item named “financial rules 2026–2027,” suggesting a newer document may be available privately.
Do not budget from the table below without a current quotation. Ask the school to provide the signed 2026/27 rules stored in EDUKA, or the rules attached to any offer.
The last publicly accessible annual tuition totals were:
| 2025/26 nationality category | Maternelle | Elementary | Collège | Lycée |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | €7,750 | €7,500 | €8,192 | €8,710 |
| EU | €11,500 | €7,500 | €8,192 | €8,710 |
| Turkish | €11,500 | €9,500 | €9,856 | €10,270 |
| Other nationality | €11,500 | €10,500 | €10,880 | €11,310 |
The 2025/26 figures include 10% VAT. The rules allow a later VAT increase to be added to invoices.
The same old rules imposed a non-refundable first-registration fee. Payment validated registration, but did not replace tuition.
| 2025/26 nationality category | Maternelle | Elementary | Collège | Lycée |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | €5,625 | €5,625 | €4,375 | €4,375 |
| EU | €8,125 | €5,625 | €4,375 | €4,375 |
| Other nationality | €8,125 | €8,125 | €8,125* | €4,375 |
*The old collège charge fell to €5,625 for a pupil already enrolled at an AEFE school.
The old table does not give a separate Turkish-national first-registration charge. That omission should be resolved in writing rather than inferred from another category.
If a sibling was already enrolled, the old rules reduced the first-registration fee by 20%. The reduced charges were €4,500, €6,500, €3,500 or €6,500, depending on stage and nationality category.
Current applicants need the exact amount stated in their own offer. The school has not publicly confirmed that any 2025/26 registration charge or discount still applies.
In 2025/26, tuition was billed in three instalments due in September, January and April. Every term already begun was payable in full.
The old rules offered a 15% tuition reduction from the third enrolled child with the same registered payer. They also offered unaided families 10% off for full payment by 1 September 2025.
Those dates and discounts are not current promises. Ask for the 2026/27 instalment dates, sibling test and any early-payment deadline.
The public rules did not provide a broader notice schedule or refund formula. Their clearest liabilities were the non-refundable registration fee and full payment for each started term.
The primary rules also allowed the school to withhold the pupil file and departure certificate until invoices were paid and borrowed books returned. Ask whether the current contract retains that provision.
No refundable security deposit appears in the last public financial rules. Do not treat the first-registration fee as a deposit, because the document expressly made it non-refundable.
The last public schedule charged the school’s own pupils €50 for the brevet, €80 for early baccalauréat papers and €160 for the final baccalauréat. Independent-candidate charges were €90, €160 and €320.
Terminale pupils also paid €200 for computer transfer, maintenance and digital textbooks. School-ordered exercise books were estimated at €8–€10, depending on customs costs.
The primary rules made school insurance compulsory and said it was billed with the first tuition instalment. No amount was published.
These are 2025/26 figures. Current exam, device, book and insurance charges remain unverified. The supplies page does publish 2026/27 lists by year, so families can identify required personal purchases.
No current activity tariff was found on the public pages reviewed. Families should ask which trips, clubs, examinations or materials are compulsory for their child’s year.
The latest public canteen notice and contract are labelled 2025/26. That year’s arrangement made school meals compulsory from petite section through 3e, while lycée pupils could choose a plan.
Packed lunches were not allowed under that contract. Sardunya was the provider, and the first-semester meal price was ₺473. The second-semester price could rise with inflation.
The old first-semester totals were ₺32,873.50 for maternelle and ₺24,596 for primary. Collège totals varied with three, four or five weekly meal days.
That contract gave no refund for absence or unused meal days. It also provided late-payment interest, loss of meal service for non-payment and a 25% contractual penalty in specified suspension circumstances.
None of those amounts should be presented as a 2026/27 meal quote. Request the current compulsory-stage rules, price, inflation mechanism, allergy arrangements and cancellation terms.
The school appointed PL Turizm from September 2026. Families register directly with the provider, and routes are planned from the addresses submitted.
The two campuses have separate zone schedules. Published annual advance-payment prices for a return service are:
| Campus and side of Istanbul | 2026/27 annual return-service range |
|---|---|
| Beyoğlu, European side | ₺86,233.88–₺179,191.38 |
| Beyoğlu, Asian side | ₺114,933.38–₺199,317.13 |
| Tarabya, European side | ₺85,918.00–₺200,264.75 |
| Tarabya, Asian side | ₺171,610.38–₺200,174.50 |
The price depends on the exact zone. The Tarabya schedule also gives afternoon-only service from school to home.
| Tarabya afternoon-only area | 2026/27 annual range |
|---|---|
| European side | ₺60,142.60–₺140,185.33 |
| Asian side | ₺120,127.26–₺140,122.15 |
The tariffs include VAT and an onboard supervisor. They give a 5% advance-payment discount, 10% for three siblings and 15% for four siblings.
The published card plan uses three instalments in September, October and November. A bank-transfer plan uses September, December and March.
The transport documents allow a second-term adjustment if Istanbul’s UKOME authority changes the regulated rate. The additional amount becomes payable within 30 days.
No equivalent afternoon-only schedule was published for Beyoğlu. Ask whether one-way service is available, which zone covers the home, and how sibling journeys between campuses are handled.
Admission does not itself give a child or parent a right to live in Türkiye. The school does not publish a visa service, family relocation service or guardianship programme.
Türkiye’s migration authority says that a child under 18 with a family residence permit can attend primary or secondary school without a separate student residence permit.
A foreign child without that family permit may need a student residence permit. The official process can require parental or legal-guardian consent, address evidence and proof of study.
The authority also states that a child’s student residence permit gives no residence right to parents or other relatives. Families must therefore establish each person’s lawful status independently.
Official visa guidance says foreign primary and secondary pupils need a visa matching the study purpose where a visa is required. Unaccompanied minors may need consent, birth and care documents.
Because Pierre Loti is day-only, families should resolve the child’s daily residence and authorized adult arrangements before enrolment. Ask the school what immigration documents it needs and whether it will issue enrollment evidence before arrival.
Use our Istanbul school-search guide to compare the location and curriculum with other local routes. The Türkiye education guide explains the wider national context.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
British International STEAM School Istanbul is the Etiler preschool and primary campus of The British School Istanbul. It combines Cambridge subjects with parts of England's National Curriculum. International secondary education continues at the separate Zekeriyaköy campus, with IGCSE and the IB Diploma.
IstanbulDeutsche Schule Istanbul combines German and Turkish educational traditions in Beyoğlu. Its German-entry process and Turkish Lise admissions have different rules. The Abitur is relevant to both pathways, so begin by confirming the child's route, prior schooling and intended qualifications.
IstanbulIICS offers English-medium IB education for Istanbul’s international community. Applicants must hold a non-Turkish passport. Hisar serves younger pupils; Marmara continues through Grade 12. Choose the campus and assess the journey before comparing the 2026–27 fees, which are payable in US dollars.
IstanbulLiceo Italiano combines the Italian Liceo Scientifico with requirements from the Turkish education system. Most pupils enter the preparatory class through LGS; a smaller route applies to some pupils with Italian at B1 level. The 2026 admissions round is closed, so families should use it only as a guide to the next published process.
Start with the child’s eligibility and the qualification you want to preserve. Then check the campus for the actual year group. Istanbul’s English-medium international schools, French lycée, German school and Italian liceo have different admissions rules; they are not interchangeable options for every passport.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.
7 minTuition is only one line of the budget. Separate charges from advance payments, record what each figure includes, and ask the school to confirm your calculation in writing.