The EIB, École Internationale Bilingue, is a group of private schools in central and western Paris. Its first school, at Monceau, opened in 1954. It now has eight schools and more than 3,000 pupils, and belongs to the international Globeducate network. Families discovering it ask three questions: which school for which age, what it costs, and how to get in.
Eight schools, from nursery to the end of secondary
Six schools take children from nursery through primary: Grenelle in the 7th arrondissement, Trocadéro and Lamartine in the 16th, Wagram in the 17th, Monceau in the 8th, and La Jonchère in Bougival, west of Paris, which keeps its pupils until the end of collège (lower secondary, ages 11 to 15). In Paris, secondary school continues at the Monceau collège and then the Étoile lycée (upper secondary, ages 15 to 18), each split across two sites in the 8th and 17th.
The Monceau collège is sous contrat d'association, a private school under contract with the French state: it follows the national curriculum and prepares pupils for the brevet, the exam at the end of lower secondary. English is central, with about a quarter of teaching in English according to the school, and an optional British international section. A second foreign language, Mandarin, Spanish, German or Italian, is added from the first year.
The Étoile lycée: French baccalauréat or IB
The Étoile lycée has about 620 students. It offers two tracks with different status. The French baccalauréat, under contract with the state, comes in three sections: standard, European, or international, leading to the BFI (baccalauréat français international). The IB track, preparing for the International Baccalaureate diploma, is outside the state contract, with teaching split equally between French and English.
Everyone does seconde, the first year of lycée, on rue de Londres in the 8th. IB students stay there; French baccalauréat students do their final two years on rue Villaret-de-Joyeuse in the 17th. At the end of the IB preparatory year, a student can continue with the IB or apply to move into the French track, subject to admission tests. The choice between the two diplomas depends mainly on where the student wants to study next: see BFI or IB.
Fees for 2026-2027, from the EIB's published fee schedules.
Monceau collège: €11,250 in the first year, including a one-week integration trip, then €10,200 a year for the next three years; €1,755 more for the international section.
Étoile lycée, French baccalauréat: €10,200 a year, plus €2,145 for BFI preparation or €1,482 for the European section.
Étoile lycée, IB track: €12,498 for the preparatory year, €19,455 for the first year of the Diploma Programme, €20,670 for the second.
For every new student: a €300 application fee and a €1,000 registration fee, both non-refundable. To apply to universities abroad, the lycée's counselling service is compulsory: from €600 for access, then from €900 for UK applications and from €1,800 for US applications.
What the price covers
In the state-contracted secondary schools, fees have two parts that the EIB presents as inseparable: a share under the state contract, €2,534 at the lycée, and a compulsory "EIB pack" that pays for what goes beyond the national curriculum, such as half-group classes, extra language hours and individual support. The total remains well below that of fully private international schools, several of which charge more than €30,000 a year at upper-secondary level; I compare them in Choosing an international school in Paris.
How admission works
The application starts with a form on the EIB website, which opens an account on its enrolment platform. The family completes the file there, with school reports, and pays the application fee. The decision rests with the head of school, after reviewing the file and, if the school sees fit, knowledge tests and an interview. The EIB takes students during the school year, subject to places.
School reports therefore count first. A student coming from another system, or asking to move from the IB preparatory year into the French track, should bring their maths up to the level of the French curriculum before the tests.
How we help
At Carmine, we help families choose between the EIB and other bilingual or international schools, then prepare the file and the tests; our School admissions page describes this support. For maths, I teach EIB students in private lessons, in French or in English.