Around Cannes, several routes side by side
Most pupils in Cannes follow the French national curriculum in the town’s collèges and lycées. Around it, families can choose bilingual tracks inside the French system, or leave it for a full British curriculum. A tutor is only useful if they work inside the syllabus your child is actually assessed on, so it is worth being precise about which that is.
| Route | Where | What tutoring has to match |
|---|---|---|
| French national curriculum | Collèges and lycées in Cannes: Carnot, Bristol, Jules-Ferry, Stanislas and others | The brevet, then the baccalauréat: specialties, early French and maths exams in première, Grand oral. |
| European sections | Lycées Carnot and Bristol, in English | The French bac, plus a subject partly taught in English. |
| Esabac | Lycée Bristol, for STMG students | The French bac and the Italian Esame di Stato, with Italian language, culture and history. |
| French International Baccalaureate (BFI) | International lycée in Valbonne, Sophia-Antipolis | A general French bac with an in-depth language and culture component, in one of six languages. |
| British curriculum | Mougins School | The English National Curriculum, up to IGCSE and A-Level examinations. |
We are not affiliated with any of these schools. We simply work with the programme your child follows, whichever it is.
What bilingual tracks actually demand
The difficulty in these tracks rarely comes from the language alone. It comes from combining a demanding subject with a language that is not spoken at home.
- Subject vocabulary. A student fluent in everyday English may still not know how to write up a history source analysis or a maths justification in it. That vocabulary is specific and teachable.
- Assessment conventions. The French commentaire, an IGCSE structured question and an A-Level proof each expect a different kind of answer. Knowing the content is not enough if the form is wrong.
- Moving between systems. A child leaving a British school for a French lycée, or the reverse, faces a different maths sequence and different writing expectations at each age. The transition is best prepared over the summer before the move rather than during the first term.
For subject content in English, Luckas teaches maths, physics and chemistry fully in English, having come through French preparatory classes and holding an MSc from Imperial College London. Allma, a native speaker, teaches English itself, and Sylvie, who holds the French agrégation in German and taught for fifteen years in French schools, teaches German — one of the six BFI languages at Valbonne. Our other tutors work in French, on the student’s own materials.
What to check before choosing any tutor
- Do they know your exact syllabus?
Not “maths”, but which programme and which level. Ask them to name the assessment structure. If they cannot, they will be learning it on your time.
- Can they teach in the language of assessment?
A brilliant explanation in the wrong language leaves the student unable to reproduce it in the exam.
- Will they let your child struggle productively?
A tutor who supplies answers produces smooth lessons and no learning. Ask how they check that the student can work alone afterwards.
- How will you be kept informed?
You should know what was covered and what is still fragile, without having to wait for a school report.