International School Admissions in Paris (2026)

The brief

Paris runs a September academic year. Applications open the previous October to January at the top English-medium schools. Later applicants land on a waitlist.
Two bottlenecks dominate primary entry: Maternelle (age 3) and CP (age 6). Families queue 12 to 18 months ahead at ISP, ASP, EABJM and Marymount.
Sixième (age 11) is the other tight gate, especially where IB or British cohorts continue through.
The OIB / BFI language screen at Lycée International Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the gate. A child without working English (British section) or working French (any section) does not pass it.
ISP and ASP carry persistent waitlists at early years and Sixième. Marymount fills early years before Christmas. EABJM is oversubscribed across the board and selects on academic potential.
Hors-contrat and sous-contrat schools admit on different rules. Sous-contrat schools follow French state procedures; hors-contrat schools admit independently and can place later in the year at full private fees.

How the Paris admissions year runs

The French school year runs early September to early July. Every intake decision sits against that calendar. Premium English-medium schools open applications the autumn before, close the main round by February or March, and notify through spring. By June the bus list is set.

Two structural facts make Paris harder than it looks. The language layer: most strong schools are bilingual or sit inside a French structure, so entry past CP involves a language assessment. The Sections internationales: state-funded streams inside Académie de Versailles and Académie de Paris lycées, taught partly in the section's home language, leading to the Baccalauréat Français International (BFI, the post-2022 successor to the OIB). State-school fees, heavy demand. The British Section at Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the canonical example.

Window	What happens
September to October	Open days, parent tours, registration forms released for the following September.
October to January	Main application window for ISP, ASP, BSP, EABJM, Marymount, Ermitage. Files complete; assessments scheduled.
February to April	Decisions for the main intake. Waitlist positions communicated. Deposits and contracts due within weeks of offer.
May to July	Late applications and second-pass list where attrition has freed places.
August	Final movements as relocations confirm.
September	Term starts. Later applications queue for January or the following September.

The Sections internationales follow the Versailles / Paris academic calendars with their own application route. Files due January to February, language assessment in March or April, decisions in May or June.

Year-group bottlenecks

Pressure concentrates at four entry points. Outside these, places open in upper primary and upper secondary at most major schools, sometimes at short notice.

Maternelle at age 3 (Petite Section). The earliest intake. EABJM, ISP, ASP and Marymount fill this year before the previous Christmas. Marymount is particularly tight because year groups are small and the school stops at Grade 8, so families who land at age 3 stay through.

CP at age 6 (Grade 1). The second hard gate. Start of formal primary in France, with French families switching in or out. At EABJM the CP entry test is competitive; at ISP and ASP, families who began contact during the nursery year hold a structural advantage.

Sixième at age 11 (Grade 6 / Year 7). The continuation year for IB, British and French sections. Families finishing French elementary apply across to ISP, ASP, BSP and the Sections internationales; relocating families targeting a specific qualification move now rather than disrupt later; and most CM2 leavers move up internally, limiting free capacity. The British Section at Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the hardest single gate in the city at this age.

Seconde at age 15 (Grade 10 / Year 11). Quieter but real, particularly at BSP for A Levels and at ASP for AP and IB Diploma starts. EABJM's Seconde intake is small and competitive.

The middle years (CE1 through CM2, Cinquième through Quatrième) are where places open through the year as corporate relocations end and the bus list refreshes.

How the waitlists move

Paris waitlists move on attrition, not capacity. Strong schools maintain class size limits and do not add sections to absorb demand. A place opens when a family leaves, transfers internally, or fails an assessment.

The order is rarely a pure queue. At ISP, ASP, Marymount and BSP, sibling priority is visible: a family already in the school sits ahead of a family arriving cold. Confirmed corporate transfers are processed faster than speculative applications. EABJM is closer to a French private concours: dossier and entry test, admission on potential rather than waitlist order.

The British Section at Saint-Germain-en-Laye runs a separate logic. Capacity is fixed by the section's funded headcount and the queue effectively re-sorts every spring after the entry tests: a child on the waitlist in March who passes the language assessment moves above a child who applied earlier but did not. Families who discover the British Section after accepting a private-school place can stay on the waitlist for two or three years.

Realistic offer date for a confirmed waitlist place is May to July, with a smaller wave in August as relocations crystallise.

What the assessment screens for

Three layers depending on age.

Early years (Maternelle through CP). Informal observation visit, parent interview, sometimes a short play-based assessment. Language readiness is observed rather than tested. The decision is rarely about the child and usually about the place itself.

Primary into Sixième. School records, English and French language tasks, and a maths assessment broadly aligned to the receiving curriculum. ISP and ASP use internal entry tasks. EABJM runs an academic assessment closer to a French private concours. BSP looks for English at age-appropriate level and basic French exposure; arriving children with limited French are accommodated.

OIB / BFI language screen for the Sections internationales. The harder gate. The British Section expects age-appropriate written and spoken English at native or near-native level. For the French side, a non-French speaker needs B1 to B2 by Sixième to follow the French national programme. A year of structured language preparation before the application is the realistic minimum.

Top-tier read

American School of Paris (Saint-Cloud). Age 3 to Grade 12, AP and IB. Default for US relocating families. Persistent waitlists at early years and Sixième; mid-year transfer easier in upper grades. Fees roughly EUR 25,000 to EUR 41,400 plus a one-time capital assessment.

International School of Paris (16th). The only three-programme IB World School in France, running PYP, MYP and DP across three campuses near Trocadéro. Early-years and Sixième entry are the tight gates; sibling priority is visible. Steady trickle of waitlist movement into the summer. Fees EUR 25,500 to EUR 39,000 with a EUR 10,000 one-time entry fee from Grade 1.

Ecole Jeannine Manuel (15th). EABJM is the most academically selective of the bilingual schools, around 1,600 pupils, consistent top placement on French Bac and IB rankings. Admission by dossier and entry test. CP, Sixième and Seconde are competitive across all candidates. Brexit-era demand from London relocators tightened the school further. Fees EUR 10,260 to EUR 32,560.

Marymount International School Paris (Neuilly-sur-Seine). Stops at Grade 8, which concentrates demand at early years. Petite Section and Kindergarten are the bottleneck. Around 360 pupils. Fees EUR 23,250 to EUR 38,500.

British School of Paris (Croissy-sur-Seine). The British-curriculum mainstay, 3 to 18 on the riverside campus. Reception and Year 7 are the busiest entry points. Comfortable with limited-French anglophone families and tends to confirm places earlier than central rivals. Fees EUR 20,684 to EUR 34,065 with a EUR 8,000 development fund.

Lycée International Saint-Germain-en-Laye, British Section. Lowest-fee strong option in the Paris area: roughly EUR 3,746 to EUR 9,090 a year. Around 830 pupils across the British Section, inside a 3,000-pupil state lycée. The language screen is the gate. Sixième is the hardest single entry point in the Paris system; CP is more workable.

Ermitage International School (Maisons-Lafitte). The most affordable of the full IB schools, day and boarding for around 1,500 pupils. Less waitlist pressure than ISP, ASP or Marymount at most year groups. Fees EUR 7,500 to EUR 28,950.

How families maximise their chances

Successful files share a pattern.

Application started the autumn before. Files landing in April for the following September have missed the main round at ISP, ASP, EABJM, Marymount and the British Section.

Two or three schools in parallel. A confirmed place at BSP, Ermitage or ICS Paris functions as a holding position while the waitlist at a first choice moves through spring and summer.

Complete files. Past school reports, attendance, specialist reports (SEN, language), and the parents' employer letter. Schools process complete files first.

Real language preparation before the BFI or Sixième screen. A year of structured work changes the outcome at the OIB gate. App-based learning over a few weeks does not.

An in-person visit in the October-to-November tour window. A school that has met the family receives the application differently from one looking at a PDF in a queue.

A corporate relocation team where one exists. Established Paris postings carry direct lines into ISP, ASP and BSP admissions, which moves files faster than cold ones.

FAQs

When does the application window open for September entry? October to January before the September of entry is the main round at every English-medium school. Files completed by January are processed first. By April the main round has closed and applications move onto a waitlist or second-round queue.

What is the difference between sous-contrat and hors-contrat schools? Sous-contrat schools have a contract with the French state, follow the national programme, and admit through procedures broadly aligned with the state sector. Fees are lower because part of teacher salaries is state-funded. Hors-contrat schools sit outside that contract, admit independently, set their own programme, and charge full private fees. ISP, ASP, BSP, EABJM, Marymount, Ermitage and ICS Paris are hors-contrat. The Sections internationales inside state lycées are sous-contrat.

Is sibling priority real? At ISP, ASP, Marymount and BSP, yes. A child of an existing family typically moves ahead of cold applicants at the same year group. At EABJM, sibling priority exists but does not override the entry test.

How serious is the OIB language screen? Serious. The British Section at Saint-Germain-en-Laye expects native or near-native English at age-appropriate level. A child whose English is conversational rather than academic does not pass. The same applies to the French side past age 6.

What happens with arrivals in October or November? Late autumn arrivals lose most of the September intake. Mid-tier and hors-contrat schools with capacity can still place a child for January or the spring term. The Sections internationales and the tightest schools (EABJM, Marymount Maternelle, the British Section) close their books and roll the application to the following September.

Sources

Admissions and fee pages at ISP, ASP, BSP, EABJM, Marymount, Ermitage, ICS Paris and Lycée International Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
French Ministry of Education guidance on Sections internationales and the Baccalauréat Français International.
Académie de Versailles and Académie de Paris admissions procedures.
Editorial review of Paris school file submissions across the 2024 to 2026 cycles.