A family living in France who want their child to reach a high level of English have three routes. Stay in the French system with an international section, which leads to the BFI (baccalauréat français international). Choose an international school preparing for the IB. Or choose an English school, leading to IGCSEs and then A levels. All three produce excellent English. They do not lead to the same studies.
IGCSEs and A levels: the English curriculum
In the English system, students sit a series of subject exams at 16, at the end of Year 11, the equivalent of the French seconde: GCSEs, or IGCSEs in their international version. They then usually choose three or four subjects, studied for two years for A levels. It is a highly specialised curriculum: a student who chooses maths, physics and economics concentrates the last two years on those three subjects.
In France, several private schools follow this curriculum: the British School of Paris in Croissy-sur-Seine prepares for GCSEs then A levels, Bordeaux International School for IGCSEs then International A Levels, the International School of Nice for IGCSEs then the IB. They are private schools, with fees from about €8,000 to €35,000 a year depending on the school and level; those in Bordeaux and Nice are covered in International schools in Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice.
Where to take an international baccalaureate in France
"International baccalaureate" refers to two different diplomas. The BFI is a French baccalauréat with an international section: it is offered in state and state-contracted private lycées, 80 of which have a British section according to the Ministry of Education's data for 2026, and in schools such as the Lycée International in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The IB is a diploma independent of the French system: in Paris, it is offered at the International School of Paris, the American School of Paris, the École Jeannine Manuel and the EIB's Étoile lycée, among others (see EIB Paris).
What each route opens
For British universities, A levels are the reference qualification: entry requirements are written in their terms, subject by subject. Cambridge, for example, asks for A levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics for its maths degree. The BFI and the IB are also well known and accepted there; see UCAS with the French baccalaureate.
For French higher education, a French national holding a foreign diploma, A levels included, applies through Parcoursup like everyone else. The file will, however, be read by committees used to French school reports. And for the science and economics prépas, which extend the French lycée maths syllabus, a student coming from A levels arrives with a different syllabus and different habits of written reasoning. The BFI keeps that door open more naturally.
In short. University in the UK very likely: English school or British BFI, both work. Uncertain destination, with France among the options: the BFI, which keeps the French baccalauréat. Universities worldwide, but not the French prépas: the IB. In every case, the choice of subjects, A levels or IB higher-level subjects, matters as much as the choice of school.
How we help
At Carmine, we start from the child's likely destination to choose the system, then the school and the subjects; our School admissions page describes this support. For maths, at IGCSE, A level, IB or BFI, I teach private lessons, in English or French.