There is a chance you might move to Grenoble in France, but now that the dream is coming true, the reality sets in. What school is the right school for my child/children to make this move a success? Luckily, Grenoble is very well provided in a number of schools for international kids.
Focus on Elementary Schools in Grenoble
There are a number of international public schools that take children from as young as 3 in Maternelle (Kindergarten) until the age of 11 CM2 (Cours Moyen). The choices for these schools are:
Ecole de la Houille Blanche (English and German)
7 rue de la Houille Blanche 38100 Grenoble - 04 76 96 51 75
Houille Blanche offers classes in French plus adds 2 international sections in English and in German. The children must take an Entrance exam to be admitted.
The school is in the Quartier des Eaux Claires, in the south west of Grenoble and is easily accessible by car as it is situated close to the A480 motorway, and walking distance from Tram line E.
You can visit the parent's association website for more information as well as the website of l'Académie de Grenoble
Ecole Jules Ferry (English)
47 rue Leon Jouhaux 38100 Grenoble - 04 76 44 71 88
Jules Ferry offers up to 35 places in their English section spread out amongst its 10 elementary classes. Jules Ferry also has 7 kindergarten classes and is part of the new REP (Reseau d'Education Prioritaire) which helps children from lower economic backgrounds to better succeed in the education system.
The school is in the south east of Grenoble just south of the Parc Paul Mistral. It can be reached by the number 13 inner city bus and the C4 and C5 buses.
For more information on the English section at Jules Ferry please follow this link and scroll down for the English version.
The website of l'Académie de Grenoble also provides information about the school (in French)
Ecole Bizanet (Spanish)
53 avenue Marechal Randon 38000 Grenoble - 04 76 42 00 66
Ecole Bizanet has a kindergarten section and takes children from the ages of 3 to 11 years of age. It teaches in French but also offers a Spanish section in the Elementary school. The pupils are spread out amongst the 8 elementary classes. Each class has an average of 12 pupils in the Spanish section. Each pupil has 4 hours of Spanish per week.
The school is very centrally located near Île Verte and the Musée de Grenoble. It is easily accessible with the B tram.
Ecole Jean Jaurès (Italian)
9 cours Jean Jaurès 38000 Grenoble - 04 76 46 41 80
Right in the heart of Grenoble, l'Ecole Elémentaire de Jean Jaurès offers 4 hours of Italian per week. The children are given a little oral test to understand their level of Italian before being accepted into the school.
The school has 13 classes with Italian teachers for their International Section. The Italian section also helps children who find themselves temporarily in France, to maintain their Italian so that they can later return to their Italian schools without having forgotten the language.
The school is very centrally located on the Cours Jean Jaures, and very accessible on the A and B tram lines at the Alsace Lorraine stops.
Ecole Anthoard (Portuguese)
3 rue Anthoard 38000 Grenoble - 04 76 96 69 34
The school offers Portuguese classes 3 to 4 times per week to all the children from CP to CM2. Applications can be sent to the school director by post. The school was created in 1879 and so has plenty of history.
Today the school finds itself in the technological sector of Europole and is very easily accessible by tram, lines A and B, stop Saint Bruno.
Ecole Menon (Arabic)
9 rue Hèbert 38000 Grenoble - 04 76 42 70 69
Ecole Menon offers 4 hours per week of Arab classes for children who are arriving in France and want to gradually integrate the French system, or for French students who would like to learn a new language. The children are spread out into all the classes of the school. They are taken out of their regular classes for an hour meaning that there are no extra hours after school. During this time the other students will learn English.
You must send in an application to the school. The children pass an oral exam to evaluate their level both in French and in Arabic.
The school is just east of Place Verdun and can be reached by tram A, stop Verdun Prefecture.
School system in France
School Education in France
For more information on the school education system in France please visit the Educsol website.
International Curriculum
For more in depth information on the international curriculum check out the Files on French School Education (note that you must scroll down quite a few pages to reach the English version of this document). It is dated from 2015, but a lot of the information is general and therefore still pertinent.
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