Ellipse Montessori Academy

A small bilingual Montessori school in the 7th arrondissement that opened in 2017 and now extends from preschool through college, with plans to grow into a full international lycée using Cambridge IGCSE and IB Diploma.

The proposition is unusual for central Paris. Authentic Montessori pedagogy at the lower end with a Cambridge and IB pathway layered on as children move up. Fees of roughly 11,500 to 28,500 euros sit in the mid-to-upper bracket for the city, reflecting the small group sizes and the central rue Amélie address.

Families who have settled in describe a calm, structured environment where bilingual immersion holds firm and Montessori materials are kept current. Anglophone parents report children strengthening French without losing English, and the after-school programme is unusually rich for a school this size. The honest caveat is scale. Year groups are small, the secondary years are still being built out, and the senior pathway has not yet produced graduates. Best for families who want Montessori with an academic spine and are comfortable with a school still adding rungs to the ladder.

• The public review pool is tiny but uniformly positive. Four five-star reviews from parents describe a caring, organised bilingual Montessori in central Paris.
• One parent of an 8 and 12-year-old described the school as "caring AND rigorous, interesting AND ambitious". Another, an American family, said their daughter had "a terrific experience" and strengthened her French while keeping her English.
• A third parent flagged genuine Montessori practice, saying "the Montessori concept is fully respected and the material is renewed every year".
• A fourth wrote that their child "revealed himself, regained his self-confidence, became more and more curious and happy to learn", crediting the team.
• After-school options come up repeatedly as a draw: judo, ballet, theatre and patisserie among them.
• No critical voices surface in the public pool, and there is no chatter from parents or expat families, so signal is small.