When a family moving to Paris contacts me, the conversation almost always starts with high school. That is understandable: high school leads to the baccalaureate, and the bac to what comes next. But in Paris, the moment when you have the most choice is sixième, the first year of collège (lower secondary, age 11). The most sought-after schools open most of their places there, and a pupil admitted in sixième does not have to go through admission again to stay on at the same school's lycée. Arriving with a child of 10 or 11 is therefore an opportunity, provided you know the calendar.
Why sixième is the widest door
The schools' own published figures show it. The École alsacienne announces about 60 places in sixième and fewer than 10 in each other year. At Jeannine Manuel, sixième is one of the main entry points, with seconde. At Franklin, there is no open admission into troisième. Elsewhere, places in later years depend on departures, which are rare.
A child admitted in sixième at a school that runs to the bac does not have to apply again for seconde. A child aiming directly for seconde faces much stronger competition for far fewer places. That is why I advise families to plan for entry into collège rather than wait for lycée.
State collèges in Paris: catchment, waivers, arriving mid-way
In the state sector, the address decides. Children are placed in June, first in the catchment collège of their main residence in Paris, which the City redefines every year and publishes on a map. Only families living in Paris can request a waiver, subject to places and to ranked reasons: first disability, health and grant status, then a sibling at the school, proximity or a special track such as an international section.
For a family arriving, three rules matter:
- A main residence in Paris is required, with at least three proofs of address for a paper file.
- The file must include the previous school's decision to move the pupil up a year. Without it, the file is not processed: bring the last report and the promotion decision with you from abroad.
- A summer arrival goes through an end-of-August committee, on a file submitted by mid-August, with notification in the last days of August. During the year, placement depends on available places, in the catchment collège or a nearby one.
A child from a recognised French school abroad follows the ordinary procedure. A French-speaking child from an unrecognised school is assessed by the collège's teachers during an integration period. A child who does not speak French first goes through the CASNAV, which tests French and maths before placing them in a regular class or a reception class (UPE2A), with at least twelve hours of French a week in the first year. There are no tests during school holidays.
International sections in Paris collèges
This is the bilingual state option: four hours of language and literature and two hours of history and geography in the section's language, on top of the French curriculum, and a natural path to the BFI at lycée. Recruitment is open to families who do not live in Paris yet.
- English (British section): Montaigne (6th arrondissement), Voltaire (11th), Camille Sée (15th), Honoré de Balzac (17th), Maurice Ravel (20th).
- Other languages: German and Spanish at Balzac; Arabic at Claude Monet and Balzac; Chinese at Paul Gauguin, Gabriel Fauré, Janson de Sailly and Jean de La Fontaine; Italian at Camille Sée and Balzac; Japanese at Jean de La Fontaine; Polish and Portuguese at Montaigne (Portuguese also at Balzac); Russian at Jacques Prévert.
Admission is based on a file, written tests and an oral in the section's language, with a single application window in winter. A Paris family aiming for a section in sixième must also request a catchment waiver in the spring, even if the collège is their own catchment school.
Leading private collèges: short windows, a year ahead
In private schools under contract, you apply directly to the school, and each has its own calendar. What stands out is how early it all happens: for entry into sixième, files are submitted in the autumn or winter of the last year of primary school.
Examples for September 2027 entry and 2026-2027 fees, from the schools' websites.
- Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague (Franklin, 16th): sixième from 15 to 30 September only, the year before entry; cinquième and quatrième until 31 March. Means-tested contribution, €3,313 a year at full rate in sixième.
- Saint-Jean-de-Passy (16th): sixième open since 15 September, other years from 18 January. Contribution of €2,015 plus extra costs, reduced according to family income.
- Stanislas (6th): pre-registration open, online file, compulsory interview. €2,398 a year excluding lunch.
- École alsacienne (6th): files from early November to early January, French and maths tests, a short interview. Income-based fees, from €0 to €1,447 per term.
- École Jeannine Manuel (15th): closing date 12 January 2027 for families living in France, no deadline for families arriving from abroad. €11,185 a year in collège.
These dates change from one year to the next: check each school's website from the summer before.
Jeannine Manuel has two assets for a family arriving: no deadline for applicants coming from abroad, and an adaptation programme for pupils who speak little or no French, from CE1 (age 7) to troisième. I go through its entry points in Jeannine Manuel admission by grade level.
IB schools for middle school: the MYP
Three schools in the Paris region offer the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), all private: the International School of Paris (16th, €36,500 a year from Grade 6 to Grade 9, plus a €10,000 entry fee), ICS Paris (15th, around €29,000 in Grades 6-8) and Ermitage in Maisons-Laffitte (€24,950 for day students in the first three years). Jeannine Manuel offers the IB only at lycée level.
For a child coming from an international school, it is the smoothest transition: same approach, same language. On the other hand, the longer a child stays outside the French system in middle school, the wider the gap in written French and in maths, the very subjects tested for entry into seconde at French lycées. If a move back into the French system is likely, take it into account from sixième.
The brevet and entry into lycée
The brevet marks the end of collège, but it does not decide progression to seconde. In Paris, placement in a state lycée is based on the annual averages of troisième, with a weighting of 5 for French and maths, plus catchment and social bonuses. So it is the year 9 marks earned in France that open the lycée. A child arriving in quatrième or troisième has little time to catch up in those two subjects.
Four questions to choose the collège
- Which lycée comes next? A school that runs to the bac avoids a second selection in seconde.
- What is the real level in written French and in maths? That decides between a bilingual school, an international section and an English-speaking school.
- Where is the family settling? The address sets the catchment collège and the scope for waivers.
- When are you arriving? A summer arrival misses the winter and spring windows; better to know before choosing the date of the move.
Prepare for sixième rather than seconde
With families who are arriving, I start by measuring the child's level in French, maths and English, then choose two or three realistic collèges with them and keep to each one's calendar, from the file to the interview. When a gap in maths must be closed before the tests, I take care of it. For the general rules of French schools when you arrive, see Schools in Paris for expat families; for what comes next, Best high schools in Paris.