To bilingualism and beyond Many international schools would pride themselves on offering high-quality language tuition, but for The International School of Nantes, that is only the beginning. Set across two campuses in the western Loire-Atlantique city – the sixth-largest centre in France – the school offers a truly bilingual programme, enabling students to master both English and French. For example, French, history and maths are taught in French, while English, geography, science and sports are in English. TEXT: HANNAH JANE THOMPSON | PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
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ll teachers are native speakers in their given languages, and lessons are based on either the French or English national curricula. Students are regularly tested using the internationallyrecognised Cambridge English exams, to ensure that their skills are improving consistently, so their bilingualism becomes a lifelong, invaluable skill. “To be perfectly bilingual; to master two languages – it opens so 50 | Issue 11 | January 2020
many doors,” explains headmistress and director, Nathalie Paulin. “And we offer a truly bilingual experience.” But the real difference at The International School of Nantes goes far beyond language. Its caring environment, which treats every child as an individual, is what really sets it apart. Whether at the Nantes Guist’hau school (for nursery and primary education),
housed in a beautiful city centre ‘maison de maître’, or the nearby Saint-Herblain campus grounds, which besides the primary school include an expansive forest (for the high school and the creche), pupils are taught in an attractive and peaceful setting.
Focused on the individual learner Across all levels, each class is capped at just 15 pupils, ensuring that teachers have the capacity to adapt lessons to suit the individ-