La Rentrée is just over here in Monaco – the English language has no word for this but here going back to school/ university etc is such a big deal, it has its own term (so to speak…) to describe the process. It marks a hugely frenetic time for parents involving school meetings, ensuring your child has everything on the Rentrée list (you buy your books/ school equipment here individually) and working out what kit your child can wear to school as a vague uniform is imposed these days in most Monaco establishments.

Schooling is obligatory in Monaco from age 6, though most parents send children aged 3 or 4 to nursery school. All state schools and private schools under contract are approved as French educational establishments abroad. This means that the BAC system operates and all teaching programs and exams are set by the French national educational authority.

Lessons in those schools are taught in French. Some schools have a French as foreign language section which can help non-French speaking pupils to integrate at the outset although most parents are amazed that their children pick French up extremely rapidly. English is taught in state and private schools under contract from the age of 3.

The state schools are free- In Monaco there are seven state nursery and primary schools, a state secondary school, vocational lycée and a technical lycée. The private school under contract which exists, is fee-paying but subsidised by the state and fees are nothing like private schools in the UK, for instance. It comprises a primary school, secondary school and lycée and conforms to the same programme and exam system as the state schools.

Private education that is not under contract is represented by the International School of Monaco ( ISM). This school is outside the French/ Monaco system and offers bi-lingual teaching in French/ English. Created in 1994, the school now has around 650 students, aged from 3 to 18. Students prepare for IGCSE certificates and the International Baccaulaureat.Costs vary and increase as the child moves up the school, culminating in annual fees in secondary school of around €27,000. 

There are also Montessori and Waldorf Steiner schooling options in or near Monaco. La Petite Ecole is a bilingual French/ English school for children aged 18months to 6 years. And just over the border in Beausoleil, France, is the Waldorf Steiner school which takes children from 18 months to 6 years.

Monaco also has its own university, the International University of Monaco ( IUM) which specialises in finance, luxury, international  management, marketing and sports management, though most Monaco children will  leave for universities further afield.

The Monaco educational landscape is thus well-organised and results in both state and private schools under contract are impressive: for instance, for FANB, the private school udner contract, all 63 pupils presented for the BAC this year, passed and 14 obtained the highest possible result of a “mention très bien”.

For those parents  who for whatever reason wish to look outside Monaco’s options, boarding schools in the UK or Switzerland are also a possibility of course. Finding the right one can be a minefield and help is now at hand here in the form of a British Boarding Schools Show which is is being held for the first time in Monaco at the Fairmont on 19^th September. Various well-known boarding schools are to be showcased and parents will be able to meet representatives from these schools and speak to education experts to help find the right school for their child.