Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon

2 Place Montréal, 69361 Lyon CEDEX 07, France. The Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon combines an elementary school, a collège, and a lycée on a single site. The CSI offers nine international language sections and serves students from CP to terminale. Dedicated CSI buses connect the school to Lyon and surrounding areas in the mornings and evenings.

Three divisions exist: an elementary school (no maternelle) serving CP to CM2, a collège, and a lycée. The elementary program serves CP to CM2 with 18 hours of French and 6 hours of language instruction. The school year runs from September to July, with classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; there is no school on Wednesday.

Public school under the French national education system with international sections. There is no boarding facility.

30 nationalities are represented.

French as a second language (FLS) and supportive instruction are provided for students who do not master French.

France

Classes run from 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 16:30; there is a midday break from 12:00 to 13:30.

Dedicated CSI buses connect the school to Lyon and surrounding areas in the mornings and evenings.

CSI Lyon offers the French national curriculum alongside nine international sections taught in different languages. The school hosts Anglophone, Arabophone, Germanophone (elementary and middle), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, and Japanese sections. Each section provides language-specific instruction in addition to core French subjects. The Anglophone Section delivers an English-language curriculum in addition to the French curriculum, with the BFI at terminale and two iGCSEs in Seconde. The Arabophone Section offers bilingual instruction with four hours of Arabic language and literature and two hours of History-Geography in Arabic, and BOI and OIB options. The Germanophone Section provides six hours per week of German alongside the French program and uses German-language materials; it becomes ABIBAC at the lycée. Other sections include Spanish (BAC-OIB leading to Bachillerato), Italian (4 hours of Italian language and literature plus 2 hours of History-Geography with Brevet et Bac à option internationale), Portuguese (DNB-OI and OIB), Polish (BFI), Chinese (BFI at the lycée with Chinese language as a DNL and ACL), and Japanese (listed among the international sections).

ABIBAC is a single exam that yields both the French Baccalaureate and the German Abitur, granting direct access to French and German universities. The Anglophone Section grants the French Baccalaureat International (BFI), equivalent to A Levels or AP and enabling entry to Anglophone universities worldwide. The Spanish Section leads to the BAC-OIB (Bachillerato Internacional) for access to Spanish higher education. The Italian and Chinese sections offer international degree pathways (Baccalauréat International with Italian or Chinese language components; ACL; CILS/CELI) and the Portuguese section provides DNB-OI and OIB opportunities, expanding higher-education options.

The CSI Lyon's after-school provisions aim to combine pupils' wellbeing with their academic success. The offerings include the morning reception, the midday break, the PEPS evening program, and the Wednesday workshops. Sessions take place on the school site and are supervised by the head of after-school care and a team of qualified activity leaders. The PEPS evening session runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 16:30 to 18:15, and the Wednesday workshops run from 9:00 to 12:00 or 13:30. The school opens at 8:30, and the after-school provision supports social interaction, containment of routines, and opportunities for rest and focused activity.

The CSI Lyon provides integrated support for learners who need additional help, including French as a Foreign Language (FLE), French as a Second Language (FLS), and Mathématiques Spéciales, as needed. National instruction is integrated into the weekly timetable, and students receive National instruction in their language of Section (for example, FLE/FLS and other language-supported content).

The Anglophone Section offers an English-language education in addition to the national French curriculum. It serves pupils from primary through lycée, and is the largest Anglophone cohort at CSI Lyon. Terminale students undertake the Baccalauréat Français Internationale (BFI), equivalent to A Levels or AP, and in Seconde they also take two iGCSEs. The Anglophone Section is a private section managed by the Association des Parents d'Elèves de la Section Anglophone (APESA) and is not staffed by private teachers; the Section Head, teachers, and administrative staff are employed directly by APESA.

The CSI Lyon emphasizes wellbeing within its daily provision. The after-school program and daily routines are designed to support pupils' social and emotional wellbeing, with spaces and activities that promote calm, social interaction, and structured study alongside academic learning.

The school implements the Phare program for prevention and combatting harassment, with a prevention and anti-harassment plan. A coordinator (Frédérique Jarre) and a resource team (at least five staff members, including Anne Raymond, Samia Khalifa, Elsa Crousier, Damien Bigot, Florence Geib, Candice Blin) oversee implementation, training, and outreach. The program includes student ambassadors (minimum 10) who are trained to detect and report harassment and to lead awareness sessions, and events such as Non-harassment Day and Safer Internet Day. In case of harassment, the school follows the national protocol for handling situations, with escalation to departmental or academic authorities as needed. Parents are guided by a CNED-based training path for families, outlining steps to understand, prevent, detect, and stop harassment; the academic hotline and the national reporting platform can be used for reporting.

Registration at the Cité Scolaire Internationale de Lyon is reserved for children who already speak fluently one of our nine languages: German, English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Polish, Portuguese. Registrations begin on January 5, 2026 and are conducted in five steps.

Step 1: Presentation of the elementary school and its sections. Before beginning the registration process, you must read and view the general presentations of the elementary school and of your section. They are accessible via the following links: General presentation article of the school, accessible here. Videos presenting the school and its sections, accessible here.

Step 2: Requesting the registration file. Parents wishing to enroll their child(ren) in the elementary school may submit a registration file request. The registration file request is completed by filling out the registration file request form, accessible here from January 5, 2026.

Step 3: Sending the registration file. The registration file is sent to you by email. The email subject should be in the format: LastName-FirstName-Language-Level (example: Durand-Paul-German-CE2).

Note: any incomplete file will be rejected.

Step 4: Admission tests. An email is sent to families at the end of May: to inform those whose registration files were not retained (late submission, incomplete, insufficient exposure to the foreign language, etc.). To summon children whose registrations have been retained for admission tests. The tests aim to verify the children's knowledge and to visualize their mother tongue level, their French level and math level, and their ability to follow a dual curriculum. The admission tests will take place on June 17, 2026; June 24, June 25 and June 26, 2026. They are conducted in person.

Step 5: Communication of results. The admissions deliberation committee meets on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The results are published on the CSI site on Friday, July 3, 2026 starting at 6:00 PM.

Useful information: The number of places in the elementary school is limited and admission is granted based on available places. At entry into CP (Cours Préparatoire), all places are available (96). For other levels, few places are available due to rising enrollment. For levels CE1 to CM2, available places depend on departures.

Final admissions are granted in the following priority order: 1. Child of institutional partners: Interpol, CIRC, Collégium, Diplomatic Corps 2) Non-French-speaking child arriving from abroad 3) French-speaking child arriving from abroad 4) Child already enrolled in France

Sincerely, The Elementary School Administration.