Lycée Français International Marguerite Duras

The AEFE direct-management French international school for Ho Chi Minh City, established in 1977 (then known as École Colette in District 1) and now on a purpose-built 24,000 square metre campus.

The lycée covers maternelle through terminale and prepares students for the French Baccalauréat under direct AEFE oversight. Roughly 1,200 students are split fairly evenly between primary and secondary, with the secondary buildings dating to 2010. The site sits in Thu Duc City and serves families from across the metropolitan area, with dedicated school buses for the longer commutes.

Most families come away well on infrastructure and on motivated, competent teachers in the early years. The recurring practical complaint is the long bus journey for younger children from districts on the wrong side of the city, which pushes some families to relocate to Districts 2 or 9 to be nearer. A smaller thread of feedback flags inconsistency where teachers' subject backgrounds do not always match what they are asked to teach. Fees follow the AEFE model, lower than the premium English-medium tier.

• Parents praise the campus and infrastructure, the AEFE accreditation and a real diversity of nationalities (French, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese among others).
• The District 9 location is the consistent pain point: families outside District 2 or 9 describe long bus commutes, with some children leaving home at 7am and returning at 5pm.
• Parents flag uneven catering: complaints about repetitive menus and food running out before later seatings.
• Subject-teacher fit gets occasional flags from secondary parents, including a maths teacher described as a geologist by background.
• Outcomes get warm reviews: 100% Bac pass rate, with French-Vietnamese alumni placed directly into French universities.