Frequently asked questions – Bilingual school in Castelnau-le-Lez

Yes, by appointment. A visit comes before any application, so that parents can see the premises and meet the team.

We give you the figure at first contact, before any application: call +33 4 34 81 09 85 or write to contact@davinciprivateschool.com. Applying costs nothing — there is no application fee and no registration fee. Meals and wraparound care are chosen à la carte, at extra cost.

We give you the figure at first contact, before any application: call +33 4 34 81 09 85 or write to contact@davinciprivateschool.com. You get the full schedule — annual fee by year group, meals, wraparound care, Da Vinci Club and payment terms — without having to apply first.

No, none. Neither an application fee nor a registration fee: reviewing your file and visiting the campus are free.

Teaching across the whole year, delivered equally in French and English by two teachers, in a class of no more than 15 children, Wednesday mornings included, with progress tracking and bilingual reports. Meals, wraparound care and the Wednesday afternoon Da Vinci Club are chosen à la carte, at extra cost.

Yes. A reduction applies from the second child onwards, and increases for each further child.

Yes, in two forms. A bursary based on merit or on income can be applied for. And for a child under 6, half of the childcare costs qualify for a French tax credit, including wraparound care and the club. Both are assessed case by case.

Yes. Classes of no more than 15 children allow teaching to be individualised. Each situation is discussed with the family before admission, to check together that the school can meet the child's needs. Where individual support is needed, it is arranged with the family.

Read more:Individualised teaching: how to adapt learning to each child

The micro-campus welcomes children from 2 to 11 years old, from pre-nursery through to the final year of primary school.

An independent school does not have to follow the national programmes, but it must enable every child to acquire the common core of knowledge, and the education authority checks this. Da Vinci Private School includes the French national requirements. What changes here: no more than 15 children per class, a day spent in equal measure in French and in English with a teacher for each language, and individual follow-up recorded in a portfolio and a bilingual report each term.

Read more:State, private or international school: what difference for a child?

No. In the middle and final pre-school years, English is picked up through immersion, through play and the routines of the class, with a dedicated English teacher. Each child's level is observed from the day they arrive, and activities are adapted to it.

Read more:At what age should a child start learning English?

Through the CP Bridge Programme (« Protocole Passerelle CP »). In groups of no more than 4, children in the final pre-school year spend one hour a day on reading and writing with the French-speaking teacher, and 30 minutes a day on English with a native English-speaking teacher. They also have lunch and share break times with the CP classes, so the next school year starts in familiar surroundings.

Read more:Independence at school: learning to do it alone without being left alone

How many children are there per class, really? Who teaches each language, and for how long? What does a typical day look like? How is progress tracked and shared with parents? What do the fees cover, and what comes on top? Is the school inspected by the education authority? These are the questions we answer at every visit.

Read more:How to choose a school for your child in France

Strictly speaking, "école primaire" covers the whole of French primary education: the pre-school years ("école maternelle", from the pre-nursery year to the final pre-school year) and "école élémentaire" (CP to CM2). In everyday French, though, "primaire" almost always means CP to CM2 — the word parents use, and the one this site uses. So when we talk about our primary school, we mean CP to CM2. Da Vinci Private School covers the whole of primary education, from pre-nursery to CM2.

Since 2016, French schooling has been organised in three-year cycles, and the curriculum sets what must be learned by the end of each cycle rather than each year. Cycle 1 is the pre-school years. Cycle 2 covers CP, CE1 and CE2. Cycle 3 covers CM1, CM2 and the first year of secondary school (sixième). At Da Vinci Private School, children follow cycles 1 and 2 and the first two years of cycle 3.

Class size, how much time each language really gets in the week, how progress is assessed and shared, and which curriculum is followed. At Da Vinci Private School: no more than 15 children per class, half of the time in English, no marks out of 10 or 20 but a bilingual report each term, and an international curriculum that includes the requirements of the French national curriculum.

Read more:How to choose a primary school: the 15 criteria that really matter

Yes, each arrival is discussed with the family. A diagnostic assessment measures the child's level on arrival, and groups of similar level support them while they grow confident in their second language.

Read more:At what age should a child start learning English?

No primary school in France, state or private, awards a qualification at the end of CM2: the first national qualification is the brevet, at the end of lower secondary. What matters in primary school is tracking what has been learned. At Da Vinci Private School, that means a bilingual report each term, designed to meet both the international curriculum and the French national curriculum.

Yes. The curriculum deliberately covers the French national requirements, so a child can continue either in a French school or on an international track.

A state or private collège, an international section or a bilingual class where the collège offers one, or an international school. Admission arrangements depend on each school and should be checked with it.

Yes. The week is split equally between French and English, and every child has two teachers: one English-speaking and one French-speaking. This is teaching delivered in both languages, not English lessons bolted onto a French curriculum.

Read more:Bilingual immersion or English lessons: what difference for a child?

Equally: half the school week in French, half in English, with a dedicated teacher for each language.

Read more:Can a child learn two languages without mixing them up?

In a school with extra English, English remains a subject taught a few hours a week. In a bilingual school such as Da Vinci Private School, English is a language of instruction: half of school time is in English, with a dedicated teacher.

Read more:Bilingual immersion or English lessons: what difference for a child?

15 at most, and 45 across the whole campus — 3 classes of 15, never more. The cap exists so that no child can go unnoticed.

Read more:Why can small classes change the way a child learns?

Yes, in the sense that it is a bilingual French-English school open to the wider world, registered as a private international primary school ("école primaire internationale privée"). It is independent ("hors contrat") and follows an international programme that incorporates what the French national education system expects. The school does not award an international diploma: no primary school in France awards one at the end of CM2.

Da Vinci Private School is an independent private school — "hors contrat" in French. That status is what allows it to choose its own teaching approach, its own rhythm, and an equal split between two languages, none of which would be possible for a state-contracted school. The school is nonetheless registered with the authorities and supervised by the Montpellier education authority, which inspects the teaching provided as well as the health and safety of the children. The school was inspected in 2026.

Read more:State, private or international school: what difference for a child?

An international curriculum developed over some sixty years and used by international schools worldwide. It is interdisciplinary — mathematics is also approached through science, geography through music — and it incorporates the core requirements of the French national curriculum.

Read more:Active learning: what it really is, and how children learn

Through continuous observation during everyday activities rather than ranking. Teachers measure each child's level, group the class by ability for given activities, and report progress to parents regularly.

Read more:How to follow a child's progress at school beyond marks

Yes. At least once a week, children go on an outdoor learning trip: the forest, the beach, the library…

Read more:School trip to the Crocodile Farm in Pierrelatte

Yes. On top of the weekly learning outings, the school has organised trips to London and Copenhagen.

Read more:School trip to London, from Greenwich to Tower Bridge

Yes, a small library with a French section and an English section.

Yes. The uniform creates a sense of unity and of belonging to a group, and smooths out differences in what the children wear. And, let's be honest, it makes choosing clothes in the morning a great deal easier.

Read more:School uniform: why we chose it

No. The school follows an international curriculum, taught in schools around the world, which includes the requirements of the French national curriculum. What defines it: teaching split equally between French and English, with a teacher for each language, and classes of no more than 15 children. Montessori is a teaching method; an equal split between two languages is a choice of organisation. They are two different approaches, and a visit to the campus shows ours in practice.

Read more:Montessori or active learning: what is the difference?

The school is at 69 rue des Églantiers, 34170 Castelnau-Le-Lez, on the edge of Montpellier in the south of France. Most families come from Castelnau-le-Lez, Montpellier, Le Crès, Jacou, Clapiers, Vendargues, Saint-Aunès, Montferrier-sur-Lez, Saint-Clément-de-Rivière and Saint-Drézéry.

The campus is open Monday to Friday from 7.45am to 6pm, and until 4.30pm on Wednesdays. Before- and after-school care is included within those hours, and lunch is served at school.

Meals are prepared by De la terre à l'assiette, a caterer based in Clapiers, near Montpellier, which cooks organic, local and seasonal food. Children have lunch at school.

Yes. The playground is tree-lined, with no concrete. The campus is two minutes' walk from the garrigue scrubland, vineyards and a sports ground.

The campus is at 69 rue des Églantiers, 34170 Castelnau-Le-Lez, a few minutes from Montpellier. The map on the contact page shows the exact location of the gate.

The nearest tram stop, Pompidou, is about 900 metres from the campus. A stop for bus 35 is about 20 metres from the school.

By phone on +33 4 34 81 09 85, by email at contact@davinciprivateschool.com, or on WhatsApp at +33 6 11 40 58 79. The campus is open Monday to Friday from 7.45am to 6pm, and until 4.30pm on Wednesdays.