HOW BUOYANT IS THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS MARKET? France has 152 international schools and seen 3.4–5 per cent year-on-year growth, according to ISC Research. “We have a lot of interest across
all our schools in the region,” says Veronique Martinet, director of admissions for Globeducate France. “France remains a top destination for expatriate families and is also desirable to Americans, British (despite Brexit), Scandinavians and Russophone populations. “French families looking for a
quality anglophone education and a different approach to the traditional French teaching style are also attracted to international schools. The French public education system is under pressure to catch up with a rapidly evolving, globalised world and the international schools´ market is seen as modern, hands-on and dynamic in comparison,” says Martinet. “Our schools are ahead of the curve with sustainability education, bilingualism, AI, coding and robotics and the emphasis on emotional wellbeing.” The group’s schools in the South
of France are popular with expat families who work in luxury sectors or are digital nomads. In response to increased demand Mougins British International School on the Cote d’Azur is introducing several new middle-school classes for the upcoming academic year. “Typically there is a waitlist for years 7 and 8 so this allows more families to join us in September,” says James Wellings, head of school. The International Bilingual School of Provence is also adding new middle-school classes for grades 6–8 from September at its IBS West Campus, which is between Aix-en- Provence and Éguilles. There is also increased capacity
for international
students in
three new ‘lycées international’ in the Paris area: the Lycée Luci Aubrac de Courbevoie in the La Defense business district; the Lycée International de Palaiseau Paris- Saclay; and the Lycée International de Vincennes. They are designed to provide education for expats following the government’s bid to attract new business post-Brexit.
WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE COVID PANDEMIC? “We have seen some really interesting shifts since the pandemic,” says Mougins’ head, James Wellings. “More French families have moved away from big cities to areas with more open space. Internationally, we have had more Scandinavian families, but British movement has been checked by Brexit – it is possible to live here as an expat, but it is a little more difficult than it used to be.” Mirroring the global trend,
France has seen a decrease in corporate relocations post-covid. “There has been an increase in private relocations though,” says Kattin Lopez, education consultant at Your Friend in Paris. “More digital nomad families are moving to France for a few years with their children.” Not surprisingly, there are
fewer British applying for visas. Residency permits for British nationals spiked in 2021, when over 99,000 were issued following Brexit compared with 8,700 in 2023. Americans are now the largest group being given residency cards, excluding people from North Africa. The number of Americans moving to France has tripled since the pandemic and many American-Franco families are choosing to live in France rather than the US.
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HOW VALUABLE IS A BILINGUAL EDUCATION? Extremely, says Gina Bianchi, head of school at ICS Cote d’Azur, a bilingual primary school offering the IB PYP programme: “There are strong academic outcomes for bilingual students. They outperform monolingual students over and over, including in maths and literacy.” There is increasing evidence of
the benefits of learning a language. “There are so many cognitive advantages: bilingual students can often focus better, are better at multitasking, more flexible with their thinking, more creative and empathetic and can address problems in different ways, which is an important skill.” When students learn multiple
languages they also have the opportunity to choose the country where they go to university. “Around 64% of jobs in France seek people with a good level of English, but
Below: Students from Mougins British International School
GLOBAL EDUCATION FRANCE
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