A SCHOOL WITH AN INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK, OFFERING A COMPLETE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

We also offer an all-English program starting in Seconde, the IB program, which prepares students for the International Baccalaureate. After the baccalaureate, students have a wide range of career opportunities, including business schools, medical schools, law schools and the hotel industry. Our school is highly rated by English and American universities.

The 60-hectare campus, located in Normandy just 1.5 hours from Paris, offers a wide range of activities to help students develop their full potential. From tennis to swimming, horse riding, climbing, golf, boxing, fencing, soccer, rugby and even an airplane pilot option. We also offer cultural activities such as art, dance, music and theater, which is compulsory from ^6th to^4th grade. We also offer quality catering, which is a restaurant rather than a canteen, with a choice of several dishes. Of course, all this comes at a cost, but scholarships can be offered to families, and this is something we're looking to develop.

90% of our students attend boarding schools, which operate on the basis of "houses", rather like those in Harry Potter. We currently have 3 girls' houses and 3 boys' houses. Each has its own name and identity, and is supervised by "house leaders". This sense of belonging is very strong, as can be seen from the way in which the "Rocheux", former students, continue to introduce themselves according to their house. This very active network of almost 10,000 alumni around the world is another of our distinctive features.

What makes your school particularly attractive to French expatriates?

One of our greatest assets is our immersion in the international world. We welcome students of 52 different nationalities. We also offer FLE (French as a Foreign Language) programs for non-French-speaking students who can come for a few months of immersion, and summer courses (summer camp, refresher courses). One of the school's values is precisely this coexistence of very different nationalities in a climate of humanism and tolerance. We mix nationalities in the rooms to encourage understanding and language learning. Students can choose from among 8 languages taught: French, English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, German, Chinese, not forgetting Latin and Greek.

Of our students, around half return home on weekends with a bus to Paris. The other half stay at the boarding school, which is open 7 days a week from September¹ to July 31 (excluding vacations).

This is an advantage for children of expatriates whose parents are stationed for a few years in countries considered dangerous. L'École des Roches is a good solution for them, as they can follow the French or international IB program and then resume their schooling in another school when their parents move to another country. This gives them stability, while maintaining a link with an international environment.

What type of education characterizes your school?

Our aim is to provide students with the best possible academic training, but also to help them grow and become more open to others. We are a secular French school, founded in 1899 by the sociologist Edmond DEMOLINS, and we insist on the values of the republic. We also emphasize respect, particularly for teachers. Uniforms are compulsory. The rhythm is very structured, with compulsory study hours every evening. Pupils also learn the basics of French education: how to behave at table and where these rules come from, how to thank for an invitation, and so on. We also want to pass on to the students the values of benevolence and solidarity. In concrete terms, we involve them in social actions, such as taking part in workshops in nursing homes or environmental protection initiatives.

We also organize competitions to motivate students to excel, whether in sports or academics, with dictation or eloquence contests, for example. We're determined to keep improving, so that this 124-year-old school can continue to develop.

👉 https://www.ecoledesroches.com/

Interview by Sophie Marek

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