International Children’s Education in Aix Marseille
Here’s a quick listing of schools with an international or at minimum, a bilingual French-English curriculum. I also put all these schools on a map to help you all visualize their locations: map of international schools, public and private in the Aix -Manosque region .
The International Parents club is there to help you exchange your experiences about schools and other matters you have an interest in. Joining is free and by invitation by current members only. Contact us through the Comments link below to ask to join.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS:
-> IRIS: English-French Pre-K in Aix en Provence.
Same site as for Europipole, below.
-> Europipole:Nursery to Primary levels.
See our post here, and the very interesting comments. Tuition is the most reasonable, at 3 000 euros a year. Centre de Loisirs Municipal Parc Club de l’arbois 13480 CABRIES . About 30 km south of Aix, 15 km north of Marseille. PreK and Primary. Tél. / Fax : 04 42 315 315.
-> CIPEC: Luynes, 10 km south of Aix. Pre-K and Primary .
Domaine de Fontvieille – Luynes 13080 AIX EN PROVENCE – FRANCE Tél: +33 (0)4 42 60 84 25 – Fax: + 33 (0)4 42 60 84 26 Email: info @ c-i-p-e-c.com. See our post here. They also offer Wednesday afternoon activities in English open to all children.
-> IBS, International Bilingual School of Provence: Secondary level.
Domaine des Pins- 500 Petite Route de Bouc-Bel-Air, Luynes. 10km south of Aix. Tél : (33)(0)4 42 24 03 40 Fax : (33)(0)4 42 24 09 81.
They also offer all day Wednesday English language activities for outside students.
-> EPIM: PreK (Nursery) and Primary school
With campuses in Luynes and Marseille. Very free handed approach to education, totally bilingual French and English, with fees in the 7 000 to 10 000 Euro range! They also offer Wednesday afternoon English language activities for outside students.
-> Val St André, in Aix en Provence: High School.
Offers the traditional French curriculum with special arrangements for bilingual students, as well as a full International section for the High School level. Tuition is about 5 000 euros a year in 2009.
FRENCH PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS with “EUROPEAN SECTIONS”
These public schools offer a European or international section for students fluent in another European language only. They offer more courses in this European language than the traditional French system, but do not expect a full bilingual track. These are: language classes at a mother toungue level ( wether English, German or Spanish) , and either geography or history. Getting into these sections requires taking a language proficiency exam as well as a general exam in other subjects if the applicant does not come from the French public system. Tuition is nearly free. Selection is therefore very high. However, keep in mind your teenager will be in this international section for only a few hours a week.
- Collège Mignet, Junior High School: in Aix en provence.
French , public system Junior High School with an English international section. The students in this section get 8 hours of teaching in English per week. The rest of the school drains students from the low income Jas de Bouffan population. Parents are fighting to improve the quality of the school infrastructure. Here’s the link to the very active international section parents association, APELEVIA.
- Lycée George Duby: senior High School. In Luynes, just south of Aix en Provence:
French , public system senior High School with international sections in various languages ( English, German, among the ones I know of). Again, this means students in that section get a few more classes in English than those in the purely French section, but its not a bilingual education. If they wish to present British exams, the students must work independently. It drains students from Luynes and further south ( Cabriès, Bouc Bel Air, Simiane, etc…). Here’s the link to the active international parents association, common to Duby and Mignet.
- College des Pennes Mirabeau: junior high school . West of Marseille : This junior high school just opened an international section in 2009. It’s not been well publicized so there’s still space.
- Ecole Internationale de Manosque: Pre-K, primary to High School. Situated 60 km north of Aix: Created in 2008 in reaction to the big ITER industrial project, this school covers all levels of education, from preK to High School, with Japanese, English and Italian sections, among others. The Manosque parents association site is accessible here.
–> Map of international schools, public and private in the Aix -Manosque region . I have yet to do Marseille, any suggestions for me?
Filed under Education and Child Development | Comments (3)3 Responses to “International Children’s Education in Aix Marseille”
Leave a Reply
[...] The south of Aix includes towns like Luynes, Bouc bel Air, Cabriès, Simiane, and further south west, towns like Fuveau and Rousset. The first four towns are convenient in terms of location because they are close to Marseille, where many work, and for deal hunters, close to large shopping strips like Plan de Campagne- open in Sundays! Luynes is the top area in terms of attractiveness because it offers some nice countryside, a five minute proximity to Aix, and the presence of a number of international primary and secondary schools. [...]
[...] Aix region is blessed with a few of these schools at the Pre-K, and Primary levels. See my post here for a general look at bilingual or international school options and a map of these [...]
[...] EPIM. There are more publicly funded options in Aix but they remain very limited, as mentioned on a previous post here on bilingual schools in the area. Companies wishing to bring in foreign staff, often in their thirties, have trouble persuading some [...]