Bilingual school Paris

[bll1977]

Hi, moving soon to Paris. Looking for bilingual school in Paris, anyone heard of Lennen?
Also, has anyone any comment on BISP, EIB Monceau and EIB Victor Hugo? A bit stressed with the decision...

Thank you!!

Hi, I completely understand what you are going through as I was in exactly your same position a couple of months ago. I will be happy to give you some indications. First of all a couple of questions you should consider: is the move temporary or permanent? Is the schooling paid by yourself or by your company? Are you going to live in Paris or in the suburbs and what area roughly? (NE/SE/SW/NW...) What age is/are your kids? What native language(s)? Is it the first international move? Also consider that most school are about to close the selection process for September and it might be a limiting factor.
Sorry if I am bombarding you with questions but it all come into the picture when choosing... Anyway, welcome in advance to the Ville Lumière, you will love it!
M.

These are all quite different in terms of the curricula they follow and the English/French balance. BISP and Lennen are bilingual in the sense that they are split 50/50 between English and French (I believe children have half a day in one language, half in the other). I don't have first-hand experience of either but I know parents with children in both of these schools and they seem quite happy with them. Lennen is more American in its outlook and curriculum I think.

EIB VH and Monceau belong to the same group of schools, but Victor Hugo is a primarily anglophone school, following the Cambridge International Curriculum. Children get about 6 hours of French per week. Monceau is the opposite: it's a francophone school, following the French National Curriculum, with about 6 hours of English per week. English is taught according to levels, so native anglophone children will be placed in an appropriate group at their level. You do not mention whether your child(ren) speak(s) French - if not, I don't think they could follow the Monceau programme, they would instead be placed in an 'immersion' class for a year, i.e. an intensive French language programme.

Try to visit the schools before you decide - and try to be quick if you're looking for next academic year as places fill up fast. You may also wish to join Message, an anglophone parents' forum, lots of information for English-speaking expats there (not just on schools).

Thank you for your messages! Very helpful.

We are considering to live in 7th or 15th arrondissement. 3 kids...first international move...we initially consider spending 3 yrs in Paris...school will be partly paid by the company...
We see Lennen & BISP as smaller communities, so we feel it may be easier for integration

Okay, so if you plan to stay only for a limited time and then head either back home (which I presume means an anglophone country?) or to another expat assignment then you are probably better served by a mostly anglophone school.
They usually cost more but then if you have funding this could be irrelevant (but please take into account that some school do apply a higher tariff for families that receive partial or total support from the company so you might end up finding out that a partial contribution leaves you actually worse off!!!!)

I live between the 7 and 15 myself and the kids got into EIB Monceau, but then this is a permanent move for us so it made sense. Also, when we visited the school we loved it immediately and decided that it was what we wanted but it might be different for you so it's important to visit. Regarding BISP I have heard through the grapevine that kids that seemed to be excelling there had actually just a mid level range of achievement when they headed back to UK but that might be an exaggeration and anyway even if true can be attributed to so many things that it's almost irrelevant. There are some postings here on Mumsnet as well on both have you seen them? If not I can dig those out and send you the links. Let me know.

Thank you so much for your time and so helpful tips!

Unfortunately, we won´t have time to visit schools before making a decision...

In our case, we see that BISP & Lennen allow to make a choice in a couple of years; while Victor Hugo or Monceau already define a French or English path... I could see a couple of threads on Lennen & BISP, but not that that much... would be very handy if you have some...

thks again!!

May I ask again if anyone has first hand experience or know well BISP pls?

Hello! I have two children at BISP.
It's a small community, but not overly welcome. My children came from a small, nurturing school out in the western suburbs and have found the environment at BISP quite hostile. My daughter's teachers have changed 3 times this year, they were terminated for issues related to how they treated the children. Academically, it's a great school. But I cannot say it's a welcoming or warm environment for the kids- quite the opposite.

If you’re moving from UK, make sure that the school you eventually choose teaches in a ‘British’ way, ie kind, and not following the more rigid French system. Think about the curriculum and where your next move will be in 3 years’ time.

My son is at a small international school in the western surburbs; he does 30% in French which has been the right amount for him arriving as a non-French speaker. If your children have no French at all, the immersion that EIB offer will be quite challenging, I would have thought, and they might be better off going for the anglophone option, especially if not planning to stay any longer.

Fees will be more if companies are paying; if the company is only part-paying, you might be better off paying the self-funding fee yourself and then asking the company to refund you whatever proportion they agree to pay. You’ll get discount for the additional children.

Ensure you apply for your ‘famille nombreuse’ card to give you reduced fares and discounts, and get the children <11 their Navigo Imagine R cards; at €24 per year for unlimited travel within IDF and Paris, it’s well worth having.