From the day it opened, Da Vinci Private School in Castelnau-le-Lez has offered an educational approach unlike any other in the region — and yet one built on a thoroughly mastered international pedagogy.

The school welcomes children aged 2 to 11 and prepares them to become bilingual in French and English, in the best possible learning conditions, with class sizes deliberately capped at 15 children. Every child receives personalised teaching that helps them move forward where they need support, and stretches them where they excel.

A future that looks outward

Da Vinci Private School operates outside the State contract system (hors contrat) — it receives no public funding and deliberately stands apart from any ideology. Because today's child will be tomorrow's student, able to begin their studies in France, continue them in the United States and finish them in Japan, the school gives them the chance to prepare early for a future that looks outward.

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Social life and moral values

We combine order with spontaneity, discipline with independence, and make the teaching of moral values a priority.

Cultural richness

We share the cultural richness of the region with the children, through partnerships with theatres and sports clubs in Montpellier.

Digital resources

We use multimedia resources, because they call immediately on a child's overall understanding.

Six children in Da Vinci Private School sweatshirts, seen from behind, looking at Tower Bridge from a jetty on the Thames — School trip to London, in front of Tower Bridge.

English is not a foreign language here

The period when a child is most receptive to learning a language runs from birth to around the age of 8. From the age of 2, a child recognises the languages they are exposed to and expresses themselves clearly in one or the other. This is why, at Da Vinci Private School, language is not treated as a subject of study: children simply reach for it in order to take part in activities shared in English or in French on alternating half-weeks, supported by a qualified teaching team.

A school that lets every child flourish, and protects them

The school offers a calm, protective environment scaled to the child — which is why we deliberately limit the number of children per class. Activities encourage individual initiative while remaining collective and calling on a sense of responsibility: the child builds their independence and prepares to take their place in society.

The teaching team is made up exclusively of experienced people and qualified specialists. They shape the principles of individualised education around each child's natural dispositions, building self-confidence and supporting learning.

Parents and teachers chatting in the school courtyard at the end of the day — Families gathered in the school courtyard, April 2026.

The founder

Da Vinci school was founded by Pernille Kongstad. She lives in Castelnau and is the mother of three girls and a little boy. By creating her school in the region where she lives, she wishes to give parents in and around Montpellier the possibility of applying for their children to join a school that is open to the world. Driven by her passion for children, she is supported by experienced professionals specialising in international early-years education, founders of the Switzerland-based Groupe Latitude Bilingual SA.

Read Pernille's full story →

A distinctive educational approach