Ermitage International School

One of the longest-established international schools in the Paris region, founded in 1941 in Maisons-Laffitte and offering the full IB continuum alongside the French Bac with international option, with day and boarding places for around 1,500 students.

The setting matters. Four boarding houses across the Maisons-Laffitte park, a leafy western-suburbs town with an RER A link into central Paris, and one of the most affordable IB Diploma price points within easy reach of the city. Pass rates on the IB are consistently strong and the international English section is well regarded for the warmth of its primary teaching.

The signal from secondary parents is more mixed. Families praise the welcoming atmosphere and the way newcomers are absorbed, and many describe children who have flourished. The recurring concerns sit at collège and IB MYP level. Inflexible structures, teacher absence cover gaps, and patchy support for children arriving without French come up across parent voices. Best for families who value boarding, the IB pathway, and the village feel, and are willing to advocate for their child through the middle years bumps.

• A bilingual French-English day and boarding school in Maisons-Laffitte, 20 minutes west of Paris. Founded 1941 during the German occupation by Anne-Marie Thommeret. Around 1,500 pupils across more than 80 nationalities, on a campus of converted château-style buildings within walking distance of each other.
• Offers the French Baccalaureate with international option and the IB Middle Years and Diploma programmes alongside its own International Primary Programme. 2024 IB results showed an average score of 32, a top score of 44 and 43 per cent of candidates earning a bilingual diploma. Reviewers note Ermitage is among the more affordable IB schools in the Paris area.
• Parents on Expat Exchange and aggregator pools describe a friendly, internationally minded community where new families settle quickly through the parent association. Boarding fees for IB MYP run €49,750 to €52,700 a year.
• Critical voices flag the building stock as in need of basic maintenance and extension, and parents in the collège years describe an inflexible structure with absent teachers and limited support for children adjusting to a new country or language.
• Reddit signal is shallow, limited to one 2020 r/ukpolitics post quoting the head about Brexit-driven UK enrolment. The independent picture is generous toward the early years and English Section, harder on the French collège track.