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.

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.