In France, the parent statement goes by another name: the lettre de motivation, a letter from the parents explaining why they want this school for their child. Almost every Catholic school asks for one, and so do many bilingual schools. International schools tend to use a questionnaire instead, closer to the American model. Foreign families often treat it as a formality, or copy one of the many French templates online. Both are mistakes, for different reasons.
The templates all read alike: we have carefully read your educational project, it matches our expectations perfectly, our child is bright, curious and independent, we would be honoured. A school like the École alsacienne, which reports around 1,400 applications for about 200 places, has seen those sentences hundreds of times. They will not sink an application. They add nothing to it either.
What each school actually asks for
| School | The instruction |
|---|---|
| Saint-Jean de Passy, middle school | A handwritten letter from the parents, addressed by name to the head, explaining why they chose the school "and its educational project". |
| Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague (Franklin), first year of primary | The reasons for applying and "the type of education" the parents expect, "according to the child's character and their family project". A separate free section asks about the school's Catholic character in relation to that project. |
| Stanislas | Middle and high school: a parents' letter on plain paper, plus a letter from the student at high school level. Primary: a Word file, written "without the help of AI". |
| École Jeannine Manuel, high school | A motivation letter from the student, and a reference letter for the parents, written by family, friends or professional contacts. Not needed if a sibling already attends. |
| International School of Paris | No free letter: a parent questionnaire and an applicant questionnaire on the online application platform. |
Three phrases keep coming back in the Catholic schools' instructions: educational project, the child's character, the family project. The letter they want ties the three together. What the family has understood about the school, what the child is like, what the parents want for them. Reports and siblings are already on the form.
Three kinds of reader
The Catholic school, usually sous contrat (under contract with the State, which pays the teachers and keeps fees moderate), reads first for support of its educational project. Not necessarily faith: the Saint-Jean de Passy form has a box, in so many words, for families who do not adhere to the project but commit to respect it. What reads badly is borrowed fervour. In an old thread on Doctissimo, a large French parenting forum, a teacher at a heavily oversubscribed Catholic school told a mother drafting her letter that offering to attend catechism gets no one ahead; staff have seen it too often. The same teacher gave the real order of criteria, which families rarely know: a complete file, siblings already enrolled, living in the town, applications renewed year after year, and only then the reasons for applying.
The bilingual school shifts the writing to the child. At Jeannine Manuel, at high school level, the student writes and the parents are introduced by others. Parents should leave the student's letter alone: it will be compared with how the student speaks at the interview.
The international school asks structured questions. The usual advice for American parent statements applies: one anecdote beats a list of adjectives, and an honest portrait, difficulties included, is more convincing than a flawless one. ISP also asks for any learning support documentation and states that it is reviewed confidentially.
Weak sentences and useful ones
Read a hundred times
- "Your school matches our expectations perfectly."
- "Our daughter is bright, curious and independent."
- "We value high standards and kindness."
- "The state school no longer suits us."
- "We would be honoured if our child could join your school."
Says something
- "Compulsory Latin from the second year weighed in our choice: our son reads word origins in the dictionary for fun."
- "She has read on her own since she was five, but gives up quickly in arithmetic; we work on it with her in the evenings."
- "We do not practise a religion. We accept the Christian formation your project includes and will respect it."
- "We arrive from Singapore in July; her current school follows the accredited French curriculum."
- "We will both be available to meet you on whatever date suits you."
The right-hand column is not more elegant. It can be checked, and it gives the head something to ask about at the interview. A letter with no facts in it leaves nothing to ask.
On "the state school no longer suits us": even when true, it frames the choice as an escape. The Doctissimo teacher said that kind of motive irritates. Say what you are coming for, not what you are leaving.
The structure I recommend
By hand, and without AI
Saint-Jean de Passy wants a handwritten letter. Stanislas, for primary school, wants a Word file written without AI. Both rules aim at the same thing: hearing the family itself. A letter produced by a tool reads like the online templates, largely because it draws on them. Same adjectives, same "perfectly", same "honoured". The reader notices by the second line.
Does the letter decide everything? In the same Doctissimo thread, a mother remarked that letters are mostly skimmed and the interview counts for more. Often true. But the school that receives you has read the letter, and what you wrote can come back as questions. I cover the meeting itself in the private school admission interview.
Example: the sixième file at Saint-Jean de Passy for September 2027
The 2027-2028 form asks, besides the handwritten letter, for a copy of the livret de famille (the French family record book), a photo, the 2025-2026 school reports and then each report of the current year as it comes, and a €50 cheque for the application fee (€10 for each additional file sent at the same time). Incomplete files are not reviewed. The form also states that school heads share their enrolment lists so that places are not blocked needlessly: listing your other applications honestly matters.
Each school has its own documents and calendar: see Saint-Jean de Passy admission and Franklin admission.
With the families we work with at Carmine, the letter comes after the choice of schools, not before: a good letter depends on knowing why this school, for this child. We work on it with the parents, then prepare the interview that follows. Our school entry page describes the support.