Best Bilingual Schools in Paris | International Schools Guide

Comparison table

School	Languages	Ages	Fees range (EUR)	Notes
Ecole Jeannine Manuel Paris	French-English	6–18	10,260–32,560	Most academically selective; ranked first among French lycées for ten years
Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye	French + 14 section languages	5–18	2,558–4,348	Public lycée with sections internationales; entry by test
Lycée International British Section	French-English	3–18	3,746–9,090	British Section inside the public Lycée International
EIB Paris	French-English	3–18	14,100–16,995	Sous-contrat group, eight campuses, 3,000 pupils
EIB de La Jonchère	French-English	3–14	Not published	Purpose-built campus, two-hectare park, Yvelines
International School of Paris	English-French	3–18	25,500–39,000	Only three-programme IB school in France
Marymount International School Paris	English-French	2–14	23,250–38,500	Catholic American, Neuilly, exits at Grade 8
Lennen Bilingual School	French-English	2–11	10,700–20,700	Paris's oldest French-American bilingual primary
Ermitage International School	French-English	3–18	7,500–28,950	IB continuum plus French Bac OI, boarding, Maisons-Laffitte
Eurécole	French-English-Spanish/German	2.5–18	~12,940	Trilingual model, 16th arrondissement
Hattemer Bilingue	French-English	3–10	Not published	Traditional hors-contrat primary, 8th and 16th
Deutsche Schule Paris	French-German	4–18	10,684–13,054	German national school, ZfA-accredited, Saint-Cloud
Lab School Paris	French-English	5–18	15,600–23,500	Research-linked pilot, small cohort, 11th
Notre Dame International High School	French-English	15–18	Not published	US diploma plus AP on a French Catholic campus, boarding
SIS Paris Ouest	French-English / French-German	Primary	2,611–3,464	Associative sections inside public primaries

The brief

The flagship private bilingual: Ecole Jeannine Manuel Paris runs a French national curriculum with daily English from age 6, around 1,600 pupils, ranked first among French lycées for ten consecutive years, exits via the French Bac, BFI, IB Diploma and IGCSE.
The state route: Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye houses fourteen sections internationales inside a French public lycée, fees of roughly EUR 2,500 to 4,400 a year for the section supplement, OIB and BFI as exit qualifications.
The historic bilingual primary: Lennen Bilingual School in the 7th, founded 1960, is Paris's oldest French-American bilingual at primary level, classes capped near 15 and a 50-50 French-English split end to end.
The IB choice: International School of Paris is the only three-programme IB World School in France (PYP, MYP, DP), 900 students, primarily English-medium with French as a parallel language strand rather than 50-50 instruction.
The Catholic American option: Marymount International School Paris in Neuilly is American curriculum with French as a second language, founded 1923 and described in external sources as the oldest international school in France.

# Best Bilingual Schools in Paris

Paris · Curriculum

Paris is unusual in the international landscape because the bilingual question is more structural than marketing. France built a formal bilingual architecture into its public lycées in the 1950s, and that scaffolding now coexists with a thick layer of private and sous-contrat schools offering their own dual-medium models. The price gap between two ostensibly similar bilingual programmes can run to a factor of ten, and the same OIB or BFI diploma can be earned through a state route or a private one.

Three models run in parallel. Public sections internationales sit inside French state lycées, are nearly free, and admit by competitive test. Sous-contrat private bilinguals (often Catholic, partially state-funded) offer dual-medium delivery at a moderate fee. Full private bilinguals charge international fees and combine French academics with strong English or another European language. Pairings span French-English (the bulk), French-German, French-Spanish, French-Italian, French-Japanese and French-Chinese.

What "bilingual" means here

The cleanest separation is structural. A section internationale is a French state programme that adds six to eight hours a week of foreign-language teaching (literature and history-geography in the second language) onto the standard French curriculum, leading to the OIB and, under the post-2022 reform, the BFI. The host school is a French public lycée and the bulk of teaching remains in French. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the largest such site in the region with sections in fourteen languages.

A sous-contrat school is private but partially state-funded, follows the French national curriculum, and is staffed by teachers paid by the state. The bilingual layer sits on top, usually English. Most of the EIB Paris group sits in this zone, running roughly 50-50 French-English from nursery through to a BFI or IB Diploma exit.

A full private bilingual is hors-contrat, funded entirely by fees, and free to run a curriculum of its choosing. Ecole Jeannine Manuel and the International School of Paris are the two best-known. EJM stays French-curriculum-anchored with English layered in; ISP is the reverse, English-medium with French as a parallel strand. Both are bilingual, but a child's literacy outcomes differ depending on which dominant language they start with.

Outside these three structures the label gets looser. The honest test is whether a child can read, write and reason in both languages by the end of CM2.

The strong bilingual schools in Paris

Ecole Jeannine Manuel Paris, 15th arrondissement. Founded 1954, around 1,600 pupils, French national curriculum with strong English from age 6, four exit qualifications (French Bac, BFI, IB Diploma, IGCSE). The most academically selective bilingual in the city, admissions by test, alumni placement across French grandes écoles, Oxbridge and the US Ivy League. Fees roughly EUR 10,260 to 32,560.

Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, western suburbs on the RER A. The flagship public bilingual in the region, with sections internationales in fourteen languages from English and German to Chinese and Norwegian. Entry by competitive test. Section supplement runs roughly EUR 2,500 to 4,400 a year on top of free French state tuition, the most affordable bilingual route in France for families that place through the test. The associated British Section charges around EUR 3,750 to 9,100.

EIB Paris group, eight campuses across central Paris and the western suburbs. Founded 1954 by Maurice and Jeannine Manuel, owned by Globeducate since 2012, around 3,000 pupils. French national curriculum with 50 percent English from nursery, leading to French Bac, BFI, IB Diploma, IGCSE or A Level depending on campus. Group brevet results sit at 100 percent. The EIB Paris site in the 8th and the purpose-built EIB de La Jonchère in the Yvelines are the strongest physical assets. Fees roughly EUR 14,000 to 17,000.

International School of Paris (ISP), 16th arrondissement near Trocadéro. The only three-programme IB school in France (PYP, MYP, DP), founded 1964, around 900 students from 60+ nationalities. Predominantly English-medium with French as a parallel strand, so the bilingual claim is stronger in primary than upper school. CIS and NEASC accreditation, DP results consistently above world averages. Fees roughly EUR 25,500 to 39,000.

Marymount International School Paris, Neuilly-sur-Seine. Founded 1923, Catholic American curriculum, around 360 students aged 2 to 14. Bilingual in the practical sense (French as a second language from preschool with native-speaker teachers), though the dominant medium is English and the exit is at Grade 8. Fees roughly EUR 23,250 to 38,500.

Lennen Bilingual School, 7th arrondissement. Founded 1960, Paris's oldest French-American bilingual primary, around 200 pupils aged 2 to 11. Classes capped near 15, a 50-50 split end to end with native-speaker teachers in each language. Fees roughly EUR 10,700 to 20,700.

Ermitage International School, Maisons-Laffitte. Founded 1941, around 1,500 students aged 3 to 18 with day and boarding. Full IB continuum alongside the French Bac with international option, four boarding houses on a wooded park, RER A into Paris. One of the more affordable IB Diploma routes within commuting distance. Fees roughly EUR 7,500 to 28,950.

Eurécole, 16th arrondissement. Founded 1989, ages 2.5 to 18, with trilingual ambition: French, English plus Spanish or German pushed firmly as a third language from early years. Fees around EUR 12,940.

Where the trade-offs land

The price gap is the first thing to map. A section internationale supplement at Saint-Germain runs to roughly EUR 4,000 a year. An ISP or Marymount place runs to forty thousand. Both are bilingual on paper. The state route demands a successful entrance test and a child who can absorb a French-curriculum workload. The private route trades that selection for fees and a more globally portable transcript.

The second axis is curriculum dominance. A French-anchored bilingual (EJM, EIB, sous-contrat schools) produces near-native French literacy, BFI or French Bac transcripts strong for grandes écoles and continental European universities, and an English layer that takes graduates into UK and US institutions. An English-anchored bilingual (ISP, Marymount, American School of Paris) inverts this: native English literacy, less depth in French academic writing, transcripts oriented to UK, US, Canadian and Australian universities, French credible at A1 to B2 rather than mother-tongue. Neither is better; they produce different children.

Third, continuity. EJM, ISP and EIB run from early years to age 18. Marymount stops at Grade 8. Lennen and Hattemer Bilingue stop at primary. For a relocation that may last beyond five years, the cleanest decision is to start where the exit qualification is already mapped.

Fourth, the non-English pairings. Deutsche Schule Paris in Saint-Cloud is the German national school, ZfA-accredited, fees roughly EUR 10,700 to 13,100, well below the English-language private bilinguals thanks to a German-state subsidy. For French-Spanish or French-Italian, the sections internationales at Saint-Germain or central Paris lycées remain the cleanest route.

How to read a bilingual claim

The honest test has three layers.

Fact: what proportion of teaching hours, by week, are delivered in each language? A 50-50 split from nursery through CM2 produces a different child to a 70-30 English-dominant split with a daily French lesson.

Condition: does the school staff each language with native or near-native teachers, and assess literacy in both? Daily English with a non-native assistant is not the same product as English literature taught by a UK-trained graduate.

Question: what is the exit transcript and where do graduates land? A school exiting via the BFI or OIB has gone through a French Ministry of Education review of its bilingual delivery. A school exiting via the IB Diploma with French as a B-level language has not.

FAQs

Are public sections internationales free? Almost. French state tuition is free at the lycée. Sections internationales charge a parental contribution of roughly EUR 2,500 to 5,000 a year for the additional language teaching. Entry is by competitive test and demand is high.

Can a non-French-speaking child enter a French bilingual school? At maternelle and CP, yes. Children typically pick up French quickly in a 50-50 environment. From CE2 and above, most French-anchored bilinguals expect functional French on entry. English-anchored schools (ISP, Marymount, American School of Paris) accept zero French at any age and add it as a second language.

What is the difference between OIB and BFI? The OIB (Option Internationale du Baccalauréat) was the French Bac with an international option in one section language. The BFI (Baccalauréat français international) replaced it from 2022, with a broader international curriculum across history, geography, literature and a second discipline in the section language. Most sections internationales have transitioned to the BFI.

Which bilinguals continue to age 18? EJM, EIB campuses with secondary, ISP, Ermitage, Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Notre Dame International High School (Grades 10 to 12 only), Deutsche Schule Paris and Eurécole run to bac or equivalent. Marymount stops at Grade 8, Lennen at age 11, Hattemer Bilingue at age 10.

Is there boarding? Limited. Ermitage in Maisons-Laffitte has four boarding houses on its park. Notre Dame International High School runs five-day and seven-day boarding. Beyond these the boarding option in greater Paris is thin.