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7. Primary School in France - Ecole Primaire

7.2. Enrolment into a French Primary School

Children are expected to attend school with their geographical catchment area.

If parents wish to send their child to a school outside the area it is possible to do so if there are reasonable grounds, but the approval of the mayor is normally required.

Outside of the commune the permission of the receiving mayor is also required.

The mairie are obliged to give their consent to parents wishing to send their child to a school outside the commune if either:

Where the parents are employed or in business, and either there is no lunch canteen, or there is no after school care facilities, and it makes it difficult to recover the child from school;
Where, in the opinion of the school doctor, the health needs of the child require frequent treatment, which can only be obtained in another commune;
When the brother or sister of the child in the same scholastic year is already enrolled in a neighbouring school.

The process of enrolment is normally carried out through the local mairie and then to the school itself. You are not expected to enrol each year, as re-registration is automatic.

On initial registration you will be required to produce a range of documents. These include the child’s birth certificate, vaccination certificate (diphtheria-tetanus-polio is obligatory), and medical report from a French doctor, evidence of residence (electricity, telephone bills). If available you should also bring the child’s passport and former school records.

The mairie will provide you with a registration certificate that you should then present to the school, together with the documents already presented to the mairie.

Next: School Curriculum

Back: Class Structure

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