The Lycée Charles de Gaulle’s feeder primary schools are all located around the capital. The Lycée is located in Kensington, London. This French bilingual school lets pupils study either the French curriculum, or the British curriculum – GCSEs and A-levels both (to understand the difference between the French and British education systems, read our blog here). It is the largest French school in the UK and has 3,000 pupils in the primary and secondary school. A certain number of places are reserved for French nationals and competition for the other places is high. A guaranteed secondary school place at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle is why French, francophone, British and London residents of other nationalities fight for places at the four feeder primary schools.
Why apply to one of the Lycée Charle de Gaulle’s 4 feeder primary schools?
There are numerous advantages of attending one of the Lycée Charles de Gaulle’s feeder primary schools. Here are just some of them:
- The fees are low: half the cost of a standard London private school
- Your child will not necessarily need to know any French to start in the younger years
- Your child will have the advantage of being bilingual – a top skill in today’s increasingly global society
- Guaranteed admission to the Lycée Charles de Gaulle, which also has low school fees, as these are part-subsidised by the French government
- Your child will grow up with an understanding of both French and British cultures
École Primaire André Malraux
This primary and nursery school is located in Ealing and has 250 pupils from 3 to 10 years old. For a London primary school, it is lucky to have a lot of green spaces for the children to play in. It is accredited by the AEFE (Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Étranger). Children benefit from 26 hours of teaching, and another 3 to 4 hours of reinforced English classes, as it follows the French curriculum. Pupils must have a basic knowledge of French in order to apply for André Malraux.
École Primaire Marie d’Orliac
Marie d’Orliac is also a primary and nursery school, which welcomes 700 pupils from 3 to 10 years old. It is located in Fulham and is one of the best bilingual nurseries and primary schools in London. Like André Malraux is also benefits from lots of outdoor space. In the primary school, pupils can choose to follow the bilingual curriculum that offers an hourly parity between French and English. It is accredited by the AEFE (Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Étranger). Pupils can choose between two paths: a bilingual education with a reinforced English teaching, or a bilingual education with an hourly parity between French and English. Children must have a basic knowledge of French in the higher years, but the advantage for the first few years is that it admits children who have no previous experience in French.
École de South Kensington
The École Primaire de South Kensington is, like the two previous schools, a primary and a nursery school taking 500 pupils from 3 to 10 years old. It is located in South Kensington on the site of the Lycée Charles de Gaulle. It is accredited by the AEFE (Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Étranger). Children benefit from 26 hours of teaching, and another 3 to 4 hours of reinforced English classes, as it follows the French curriculum. As for André Malraux, children must have a basic knowledge of French in order to get into École de South Kensington.
École de Wix
Ecole de Wix, located in Clapham, does not have a nursery unlike the three other feeder primary school to the Lycée Charles de Gaulle. If you are looking for bilingual nurseries in London, read our blog here. For Clapham residents, I’École du Parc is a great bilingual nursery.
École de Wix welcomes 260 children aged from 4 to 10 years old. It is possible for children to follow a bilingual curriculum with a French/English hourly parity, or a bilingual curriculum with a reinforced English teaching. The school is accredited by the AEFE (Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Étranger). The advantage of École de Wix is that for the first few years, children don’t need to have a previous knowledge of French.
How to apply to the Lycée Charles de Gaulle’s 4 feeder primary schools
You can apply to the Lycée Charles de Gaulle’s 4 feeder primary schools in any school year you desire. Applications are separated into 7 different admissions points that last for 4 weeks each from 19/10/2020 to 18/08/2021 for the school year 2021/2022. Applications are made through a web platform, whilst in-year applications are made through a form sent to you by the Admissions Team. Tuition fees range between £8,053 and £10,378 per annum with an initial registration fee of £1,200. You will need, to apply, to complete the online form and provide a full birth certificate (or a livret de famille for French families), IDs of parents and child, a photocopy of the vaccination record, a proof of employment in London, a proof of address in London, an authorisation signed by both parents that you agree to send your child to this school, a dated and signed “Rules and Procedures” form as well as the school report from the past two years. Bear in mind that, if your child is aged 6/7 years or above (Year 2/ C.P or Year 3/C.E.1) and looking for entry outside the normal entry point, the head of the primary school may want to interview them to check that they have a reasonable level of conversational French. To help your child’s French, a private tutor or French au pair, are both great options.
Please contact us for expert schools’ advice and support with applications to the 4 feeder primary schools of the Lycée Charles de Gaulle as well as applications to the Lycée Charles de Gaulle. We also provide support and advice with applications to any other French school in London, and throughout the UK.
