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New International Programme at LFCG - Meeting notes and Survey

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The notes below were taken by members of the CIPL at the meeting held on 7 October.

The Lycée has asked parent associations to share their notes with families. This is not an official LFCG document. If any discrepancy, the Lycée’s presentation and the information published on the Wix and Marie d’Orliac pages of the school website shall prevail.

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Key points
Starting in September 2027, the Lycée will replace the Wix and Marie d'Orliac bilingual programmes with a new International Programme. The enhanced English programme will be gradually phased out for new entrants. There will be no changes in September 2027 at South Kensington or André Malraux.
Applications open on 8 October 2026.

Summary table

What's changing for your child?

Your child's class becomes an International Class in September 2027.
The fee is stated to stay the same. All classes in parité horaire switch to Classes Internationales in September 2027.

Your child stays in AR to CM2 if you wish.
You may request a transferto the International Class. Both teachers' views are considered; LFCG families have priority over outside applicants.
Note: moving to the International Class means paying the parité horaire fee (higher than AR)

No change in September 2027: Anglais Renforcé only.
From 2028: “to be defined”, after dialogue with families in the conseils d'école. A transferto Wix or Marie d'Orliac can be requested.

PS and MS: International Class only. Marie d'Orliac from PS; Wix from MS (no PS at Wix).
GS to CM2 in 2027: choice of AR or International Class.
From September 2028, GS is International Class only at both sites; from September 2029, CP too.

You may apply, but have no priority over other non LFCG pupils. Applications are considered at successive commissions through the year.

There is no parité horaire at secondary. International sections keep their entry tests; there is no automatic access from the International Class.
The Lycée commits to continuity of the third language, so that Mandarin can be offered from 6ème.
A French-as-language-of-schooling support scheme already exists in 6ème.

The weekly structure of the international programme

One French curriculum, taught in two languages. The aim is mastery of the French programme with a strong English component, not two programmes side by side. Subjects are not assigned to a language: the teaching pair decides content and language together.

Timeline

7 oct. 2026

Wix and Marie d'Orliac websites updated with the new offer, the same evening as the meeting.

8 oct. 2026

Application platform opens for September 2027.

13–14 oct.

Parent elections to the Conseil d'établissement, where International Class fees will be discussed with the finance director, and to each school's conseil d'école, where hours and the next steps for SK and AM will be discussed.

Nov. 2026

Transfers at Wix and MdO: request the transfer form, fill it in and send it to the school.

Dec, 2026

Pedagogical advice from the French and English teachers.

10 Dec. 2026

First enrolment commission (date given from memory). Transfer requests are examined before outside applications. Any declined place goes to another family.

Jan. 2027

Class structures set, based on transfers and first admissions. British cap of 26; target 24 in PS. Mixed-year classes not planned.

Feb. 2027

Transfers confirmed.

Sept. 2027

Launch at Wix and Marie d'Orliac. Parité horaire replaced; no more AR in PS/MS. No change at SK and AM.

Sept. 2028

No more AR in GS at Wix and MdO. SK and AM “to be defined”.

Sept. 2029

No more AR in CP at Wix and MdO. AR then closes cohort by cohort. SK and AM “to be defined”.

Why the Lycée says it must change

The AEFE has ended the teaching partnerships at Marie d'Orliac and Wix. A decree of August 2025 gave legal force to homologation criteria previously set by circular, and LFCG, as an AEFE-run school (EGD), must comply first.

Homologation requires

  • the French national curriculum;
  • a language pathway run entirely by LFCG;
  • pupil monitoring and assessment by LFCG alone;
  • teacher careers and training managed by LFCG and the AEFE;
  • a school calendar meeting AEFE criteria.

The Lycée also cited research on children's learning time, co-teaching, and families' wish for more English and more British school culture. The project is backed by the AEFE and the French Embassy.

Parents' questions and the Lycée's answers

Questions from the room and the online chat, paraphrased, with the answers given.

The model is “not carved in stone”. Family feedback, pupil results and how the teaching pairs work will be used to evaluate and adjust it. Dialogue with families continues in the coming conseils d'école, through parent representatives, at all four schools.

Pathways already started are preserved. At Wix and Marie d'Orliac, new PS and MS entrants join the International Class.

The International Class continues the parité horaire fee and will not cost more. The Anglais Renforcé fee is unchanged. Detailed questions, including hours versus fee, will be taken up at the Conseil d'établissement with the finance director.

LFCG Parité horaire classes convert to International Classes. Other LFCG pupils have priority over outside applicants; both teachers' views are taken into account for a transfer.

Class structures will be set in January 2027, once transfers and first admissions are known. Wix should keep its current number of classes; Marie d'Orliac has little spare capacity at some levels. Today classes are 14 + 14 under the partnership. British limits will apply: at most 26 in PS and MS (one adult per 13), with a target of 24 in PS. Mixed-year classes do not suit the model; once a year group is full, no additional pupils can be admitted.

Yes, through the same transfer process. Partner-school pupils may apply but must enrol at LFCG, without priority.

“The lease allows us to continue.” Wix is on a private lease; Marie d'Orliac on a lease with the local authority. Room allocation with the partner schools is still to be organised.

The focus is on LFCG creating a very good offer. Winston Churchill also has very good offers, and having that choice in London is rare.

Classes on Wednesday morning only, within 26 hours a week and 36 weeks a year. School holidays as in Anglais Renforcé. After-school activities continue on Wednesday afternoons, possibly with coding.

Set by each school and presented in the conseil d'école. No harmonisation and no major change.

Lunch continues:run by LFCG at Marie d'Orliac, by the partner school's contractor at Wix.
Clubs continue; a new offer at Marie d'Orliac and after-club childcare are being studied.

A teaching pair that plans together, daily or half-day alternation instead of alternate weeks, one programme led by LFCG, and a third language.

Half days in nursery, whole days from CP to CM2. Regular exposure was preferred to weekly alternation; the rhythm can be adjusted.

A University of Cambridge study was cited: in bilingual nursery, a third language supports oral skills in the first. The French programme frames all learning, including what is taught in English, and French national assessments are kept.

Teachers qualified for UK primary, on local contracts, evaluated by school directors with LFCG's English coordinator. They join LFCG and AEFE training.

None, according to the Lycée: teachers want to join such a programme and AR already attracts many applications. Recruitment will start early.

Yes, unchanged, from MS, with letters and sounds coordinated across both languages.

The French programme for every subject except English, which follows the British programmes, as in AR and parité horaire today, but on a much larger scale than AR's 3–4 hours a week. The English-speaking teacher also teaches French-programme content in English.

Yes. Parité horaire was never a requirement forthis, and AR pupils move to British schools every year. As a French school, LFCG cannot enter pupils forthe 11+, but it supports families: accepting absences for interviews and providing references.

Where a school has several classes per year group, classes will continue to be composed carefully by age, gender and academic and social needs.

The French programme,required for homologation, with a British perspective added.

Under study, with a much lighter volume, depending on the teacher's hours and families' wishes.

The project covers primary only; there is no parité horaire at secondary. International sections keep their entry tests, with no automatic access. The Lycée commits to offering the third language through collège and lycée. A French-as-language-of-schooling scheme already supports pupils entering 6ème.

The CIPL's View: What This Means for Families, , Without Genuine Prior Consultation

For Wix and Marie d'Orliac,the decision is taken.

Websites changed at 19:00 and applications open from 8 October 2026. “Not carved in stone” applies to details.

Anglais Renforcé is being closed, not kept alongside.

On the timetable shown, the International Class becomes
the only primary offer at both sites, with no real consultation.

The cheaper stream disappears.

AR is the lower-fee stream. As it closes, every new family at Wix and MdO will pay the parité horaire fee, for fewer hours of teaching.

Less French than AR.

In élémentaire, AR teaches about 22–23 of its 26 weekly hours in French (3–4 hours of English, per the LFCG curriculum policy). The International Class teaches 12–12.5 hours in French: a little over half.

The third language was not asked for.

The LFCG survey offered only languages that use non-Latin scripts, without providing broader context about the overall language offering. Families should be able to make informed choices based on complete information and through a more explicit consultation process.

Our asks, in the conseils d'école and the Conseil d'établissement (subject to the findings of the survey below)

  1. A real consultation of Wix and MdO families before transfer forms are due in November, not after.
  2. Keep Anglais Renforcé open to new entrants alongside the International Class.
  3. A published fee breakdown for both streams, and a justification for the same fee with fewer hours.
  4. A timetable by subject and language for each level, and the evidence that it meets homologation.
  5. A third-language choice that includes European languages, with the option to opt out.
  6. Written answers on SATs and the phonics check, PE specialists, and access to collège sections.

Our survey

New International Programme at LFCG - Parent Survey

Nouveau Programme International au LFCG

Dear Parents,

Following the presentation meeting by the school leadership regarding the new international programme for LFCG primary schools (from September 2027 for Wix and Marie d’Orliac), the CIPL would like to anonymously gather families' views, expectations, and any questions they may have about this new educational offering.

This survey is independent of the school and only takes a few minutes to complete. Its purpose is to better understand how families perceive this new programme, identify your expectations, and collect any concerns you may have.

The results will be summarised and shared with both the families and the school leadership.

Thank you for your support and participation.

Your thoughts following the presentation of the new international programme:

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