Are you searching for a small, bilingual London school with excellent academics and pastoral care? Look no further than the Lycée Winston Churchill, based in Wembley, South London. Unusual for a London school, the Lycée enjoys 5 acres of outdoor space allowing children to enjoy sporting and other outdoor activities.
Early Years
The early years provision at Lycée Winston Churchill is superb. 3 and 4 year olds benefit from one native French-speaking class teacher and one native English-speaking class teacher. This enables them to become bilingual quickly. Younger children also enjoy a weekly forest school and getting out into nature.
International Baccalauréat (IB), French Bac or OIB
In Year 7, Lycée Winston Churchill offers student the opportunity to pursue the option of the French Bac or the International Baccalauréat (IB). The French Bac is studied mainly in French with the option to move to the international option – OIB at 16 years where pupils study English literature, as well as follow history and geography in English. However French Bac students still study up to 6 hours a week of English.
The IB is studied mainly in English, but again students still study French as a second language, alongside the IB.
Excellent careers advice is available at the school, with tailored support for students wanting to access US, European and UK universities. At year 7 students are able to speak to a careers advisor who will help them to decide which stream will work best for their future career aspirations and university choices.
Pastoral Care and Social Life
As a relatively small school (just over 800 pupils from 3-18 years), Lycée Winston Churchill is able to offer excellent pastoral care. Strong emphasis is placed on the wellbeing of the children, all of whom are known well by the well-qualified staff. In addition, there is a thriving parents’ group, who are keen to provide support to parents joining the school. This is a boon for families relocating to London who benefit from the social network that the parents’ group provides.
Where do families live in London?
Families who opt for Lycée Winston Churchill tend to live in and around Wembley and along the Jubilee Line. So, the school has families coming in from Hampstead, taking the Jubilee from the St John’s Wood. As Chiswick is a short drive away, there are also several families based in this area. The school did offer buses, but found there was little take-up from families as the bus journeys took longer than public transport. Most families commute to school by tube, bus or car.
Which Nationalities Attend Lycée Winston Churchill?
A percentage of children attending the school are French or have one French parent. In addition, British, Russian, US and families of many other nationalities opt for Lycée Winston Churchill because they would like their child to be bilingual. The school welcomes children who first language is not French or English, especially in the nursery where the little ones, especially receptive, are able to pick up their second or third language easily. As well as French and English, the school teaches Mandarin, Ancient Greek, Spanish and Latin.
Read more about French bilingual schools in central London here and French bilingual nurseries in central London here.