Paris, France
International schools in Paris: what families need to know
Paris has three parallel school systems running side by side: the French state system, which is free and academically demanding; bilingual sections attached to French schools, which are heavily oversubscribed; and fee-paying international schools, most of them in the western suburbs rather than the city itself. Which one suits your family depends far more on how long you are staying and how old your children are than on any ranking. This guide covers admissions, curricula, the school year, fees, areas and how places actually work here.
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What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Paris
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Paris in short
- Curricula available in Paris: French national, French bilingual sections, IB, British and American.
- The Paris school year runs Early September to early July, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, through the local académie.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Paris school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Paris schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Paris at a glance
The facts that shape a Paris school search
- Oversight
- Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, through the local académie
- Main curricula
- French national, French bilingual sections, IB, British and American
- School year
- Early September to early July
- Ages served
- 3 to 18; schooling is compulsory from age 3
- Language
- French in the state system; English at international schools
How admissions work in Paris
Most Paris schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Paris. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Paris
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Paris school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Paris fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Paris school year runs early September to early July.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Paris
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Paris market costs, in round numbers
Premium band- Primary, per year
- EUR 15,000 – 25,000
- Secondary, per year
- EUR 18,000 – 33,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$16,000 – 36,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Paris schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Paris school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Paris
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Western suburbs: Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Croissy, Le Vésinet
Where most of the English-language international schooling sits, along with a long-established expatriate community. Houses with gardens, RER A into La Défense and central Paris.
Neuilly, Levallois and the near west
Close to La Défense and the 16th and 17th arrondissements, with bilingual and international options and short journeys. Apartments rather than houses.
Central arrondissements
Excellent French state and private schools, several bilingual sections, and a small number of international schools. Best suited to families committing to French.
Southern suburbs and Saclay
Growing with the research and technology cluster, with international sections in local schools. Worth checking if your work sits south rather than west.
Moving to Paris with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Paris.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Paris are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Paris
France regulates schooling nationally. State schools are free and follow the national curriculum; private schools under contract (sous contrat) also follow it with partial state funding and modest fees; private schools outside contract (hors contrat), including most English-language international schools, set their own curriculum and fees. The international sections (sections internationales) sit inside the state system and are the cheapest bilingual route — which is exactly why they are the hardest to enter.
Sections internationales are the value option, and the bottleneck
These are state schools running a national French programme alongside a foreign-language section — British, American, German, Spanish and others — leading to the Baccalauréat Français International.
Entry is by language test and academic record, and demand far exceeds places in the well-known schools. Apply early, apply to more than one, and have a fee-paying fallback while you wait.
Age three is not optional
Schooling is compulsory in France from the September of the year a child turns three, so maternelle is part of the system, not childcare.
Year-group placement follows the calendar year of birth, not a September cut-off. A child born in November sits with children born the previous January — this catches out families arriving from British or American systems.
The French system is a real option, even for non-French speakers
Primary-age children with a year of immersion and some support commonly move into mainstream French classes. Local UPE2A units exist to support newly arrived pupils.
From around age twelve the calculation changes: French secondary is content-heavy and assessed in French, so a late switch is much harder. Above that age, most families choose an English-language or bilingual route.
Fees and the paperwork around them
International schools bill an application fee, a registration or capital fee, then annual tuition, usually in three instalments. Bus, canteen, trips and examination entries sit outside tuition.
State and sous contrat schools are free or low-cost, with charges limited to canteen, trips and materials.
Enrolment normally requires proof of address (justificatif de domicile), the child's records, vaccination records and, for the state system, registration through the local mairie.
Housing, the RER and the school run
Families reliably underestimate cross-city journeys. A school 12 km away can be 55 minutes each way at 8am.
The workable pattern is to shortlist schools first, then look for housing on the same transport line. Many international schools run buses along fixed suburban routes — check the route map before signing a lease.
What families get wrong in Paris
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Assuming a September cut-off
French year groups follow the birth calendar year. Your child may be placed a year differently from what you expect, in either direction.
Treating a section internationale as a safety net
It is competitive, tested, and often full. Treat it as a hopeful application, not a plan.
Renting in central Paris, then finding the school in the west
Most English-language capacity is in the western suburbs. Choose the school, then the arrondissement or commune.
Missing the mairie step for state schools
Primary registration goes through the town hall with proof of address before the school itself. Arriving in late August makes this tight.
Underestimating French for a teenager
Switching into the French system after roughly age twelve without strong French is difficult. Be honest about the level.
Leaving vaccination records behind
France has a defined compulsory vaccination list and schools ask for proof at enrolment.
Official Paris resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Paris
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Paris with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Paris
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Paris
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Paris that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Paris
Find international schools in Paris for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Paris
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Paris compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.0. Paris information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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