Middle School in Paris - l'Ecole Alsacienne, EIB Monceau, and EABJM

[neyfam]

We will be in Paris for a year, and our middle schoolers currently attend a French American school in the US. Our goal is for our girls to be immersed in the French language while recognizing that they will return to the US to continue middle school and start high school. We've whittled it down to the above 3 private schools. The reviews are consistent for l'Ecole Alsacienne--great school. For the other two, it's a mixed bag with the recent reviews on the low side. EA is highly competitive, and they do not give final acceptance until the summer which is a bit late to make living arrangements. Any input would be appreciated.

Hi neyfam - I have done a bit of research and come up with several state middle schools that are opening new Anglophone Sections Internationales, or significantly extending existing ones, this September. Take a look at the websites of Sections Internationales de Sèvres - they have two new SI opening in Saint-Cloud and are extending existing ones in Sèvres and Chaville. The Collège Montaigne also has a new Section Internationale Britannique. In the town of Courbevoie (next to La Défense business district) there are new Sections Internationales Britanniques and Américaines. You are late to apply, but application deadlines do not always matter for families arriving from abroad.

www.education.gouv.fr/cid23084/les-sections-internationales-au-college.html

You should check this list - it is not totally up-to-date, but it isn't too bad at all as a reference point for looking for an international section.

Curious which school you ended up with?

Hello there! I’m currently in the same boat. I was looking at ecole internationale bilingue in Joncheres bec we are moving in the middle of the year. My daughter is in the waiting list at Ecole Jeanine Manuel, might it work to guve them a call, as students do actually leave schools in December (expats like us)? What exactly is wrong with EIB?

Hi..curious where everyone ended up?!

Hello
Happy to find your comments.
We will come back in Paris with our son for the final year of the International Baccalaureate.
It is a bit tricky because not all school admit students for the final year.
So far, EIB was quite opened (The Victor Hugo school)
International School of Paris as well but the fees are enormous for us.
I read of course your comments about EIB Monceau.
Would anyone have any comments about " EIB Victor Hugo School", located in the 15th arrondissement that prepares to the IB ?
Does the management issue applies the same way as too EIB Monceau ?
Are there committed teachers to ensure a transition into the final year of the IB, which is very challenging as such ?
Thanks a lot for any comment.

The EIB group of schools has always had a bit of a tendency to rip off its customers. The flagship school, EIB Monceau primary, is generally sound and, if as a parent you are vigilant, can offer children a bilingual education that is unparalleled in Paris. EIB Monceau collège is a nightmare and a complete rip off - absolutely not competitive. EIB Victor Hugo is traditionally the school of last resort, after ASP, ISP, The British School and Marymount, for an international Anglophone education in Paris.

Thanks so much for your comment.
Do you know if there is a chance to get a discount either in ASP/ISP ?
No idea how I could finance...
About EIB : I saw the comments about the management. Do you think this applies also to the teachers ? The key thing is of course good and involved teachers willing to support my son through the process, as there will be certainly gaps from what is done in the 11th grade abroad/12th grade in Paris...
But much depends also on the IB coordinator to prepare before hand the transition...
are there available data on the IB results at EIB ?
Thanks

The results at IB at EIB aren’t very meaningful as it’s not a selective school and a lot of DC will have received most of their education elsewhere.

Have you tried EJM?

Hi everyone. We are an English speaking family with three children aged 7,5 and 2 moving to Paris in the summer. We are keen for our children to get a good and rounded educational experience and to learn French but are also wanting flexibility in terms of secondary options further down the line ie FB, OIB or IB. Any recent feedback to share please? So far we have on our list EJM, EIB Monceau primary and possibly ISP though that might not give the children much French! TIA

For primary, the immersion/adaptation classes at either EJM or EIB Monceau will be by far your best bet for your 7 year old. Your 5 year old will get put in normal classes straightaway at either of those schools. Your 2 year old could go straight into PS at EIB Monceau or else do one year in PS at Montessori or a state maternelle before MS at EJM. Entrance to EJM is very competitive indeed, EIB Monceau less so but it is still oversubscribed and you need to get moving with applying to both schools.

Your goal should be to get all your DC bilingual by the end of primary as this will give you most choice for secondary school. Whether or not your DC do the French Bac, the OIB or the IB is not the issue right now. All are possible if your DC are bilingual and well educated and that really needs to be your intermediate goal.

For secondary school, Institut de la Tour is increasingly popular among, and open to, international families. It has repositioned itself away from being first and foremost a Catholic school, with an Anglophone option, into being much more focused on international families and is recruiting more actively from feeder schools that have international pupils.

You should also be aware that you need to arrange extracurricular activities yourself, outside school, if you want good quality music/drama/art/sport. Those things are available in Paris but not packaged with French primary schools.

flexibility in terms of secondary options further down the line ie FB, OIB or IB.

French bac and OIB are only a sensible option if their French is native standard, so as the PP said that has to be the priority. It depends if you are planning to stay in France long term.

The Mumsnet overseas board is geared more towards the expat community rather than permanent immigrants, so a lot use international schools, but a lot of British immigrants in France have their kids in regular French state (or sous-contrat) schools. My children have been through the French state school system with excellent results, DD is now at lycée Henri IV in Paris (selective public lycée).

If arts education is important for you, one option for an enriched music curriculum is to look for state schools offering a CHAM ("classe horaires aménagées musique"). These classes are sometimes available from primary and offer high quality music education via links with the local conservatoire.

I’ve never met a child doing CHAM in primary in Paris. Perhaps (I may be wrong) they aren’t necessary in Paris where people live in close proximity to both school and conservatoire and the logistics of combining the two are not difficult. CHAM seems to kick in in collège. However, it is also possible in Paris for Anglophones to follow ABRSM programmes in English with very high quality teaching. This is a lot easier on the nerves than the conservatoire system.

That's true Maria. We have a primary CHAM here (not in Paris) but it does seem quite unusual.

Anyway point being that for people who intend to stay in France long term the choices aren't restricted to bilingual and private schools.

I very much agree that, if you are in France long term, it is not necessary to limit yourself to bilingual and international schools. However, a bilingual primary school is very helpful indeed for supporting bilingualism and teaching biliteracy such that a child has a realistic choice of monolingual schools at 11, and they are also great places to make friends for the whole family when you arrive. The social life in bilingual primary schools is very active!

Thank you so much for the info which confirms what we thought. Any further tips on Facebook groups to join or other online resources which could help as we prepare our move would be gratefully received too! Thank you!

You could join Message www.messageparis.org/public_website/

The website www.femmexpat.com has excellent recent coverage of issues in French and bilingual education.

www.aaweparis.org/images/guidecontents.pdf

Missed the post by eibparis but would have loved to know what they said

Old Post but I am in a very similar situation and would be very grateful with your insight.
We are relocating from London to Paris this summer with 2 girls younger than OP (4 and 7) for the next 5 years. We are French but our daughters have been born in London and schooled in the British system. They speak French fluently, the older one can read well but is just starting to learn how to write.
We were initially considering EIB Monceau but are much less keen given the above comments.
@neyfam @LeMesmer @GreyGauntletand and MariaNovella can you please elaborate on the issues the school go through?
Another obvious choice is Jeannine Manuel, it seems very selective and I wonder if we have any chance not coming from JM London.
We also heard it wasn't particularly nurturing for children and quite pressuring. We are happy with academically demanding schools but like it to be balanced with care and kindness.
Neyfam were did you end up in the end and how was your experience overall.