Authentic American education
within a top French public school,
from pre-K to 12 (MS-Terminale)
Our graduates attend the world’s
top universities, with 100%
success on the coveted OIB diploma
Bilingual and bicultural: rigorous
native English instruction
alongside a full French curriculum
14 international sections in
the French Lycée, creating
friendships to last a lifetime
A full range of co-curriculars and
community service to build
the whole person
The American Section
of the Lycée International
Welcome To
The Lycée International, established just outside Paris over a half-century ago by Dwight D. Eisenhower, offers a unique approach to bilingual and bicultural education for children ages 4 to 18.
Students learn from native English-speaking faculty in the American Section. They also follow a full French curriculum within the Lycée International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a public institution ranked among France’s top schools. With 99–100% success on the prestigious OIB diploma (baccalauréat avec option internationale), our graduates go on to the world’s finest universities. Students with limited French can join Français Spécial for one year of language immersion.
The Lycée unites students from 14 international sections. The result is a true multilingual, multicultural experience, with friendships that span the globe and last a lifetime.
University Admissions
The traditional (and much beloved) performance by our fifth graders took place on Thanksgiving Day. The French administration as well as colleagues from other Sections and passing collège and lycée students attended the performance, which included renditions of This Land is Your Land and Over the River and Through the Woods as well as a bilingual explanation of the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!
The American Section community came together on Wednesday for the Annual General Meeting. The highlight of the evening was Director Brian Brazeau's interview with the Lycée's Proviseur, Philippe Bonneville.
Thank you to all who bought tickets at last year's Gala for the "Cocktails with the Director” event! It was a lovely evening with cocktails, finger food, and lots of interesting conversation in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Brian, in a fireside chat, touched on a variety of topics, including his educational background, the many paths college and life after the Lycée can take for our students, favorite authors, and educational philosophies.
Fourteen American Section and four British Section students traveled to Oxford for our first international MUN conference post-Covid. Over the course of four days, our students participated in four different committees spanning historic committees, present day committees, and future committees; past and future being the particular focus of the conference.
This past Toussaint break a delegation of 12 Seconde students visited Washington, D.C. They were hosted by the Sidwell Friends School. In addition to time spent at the school, the group toured Washington, D.C. monuments, museums, and landmarks. It was a beautiful experience and marked the beginning of new friendships across the pond for us all.
American Section students enjoyed Halloween celebrations right before the Toussaint vacation. From the school-wide celebration at Schnapper to a Middle School dance party at Marcel Roby and an extravaganza complete with games and dancing for the Lycée Lower School, students, faculty, and parents alike enjoyed this very American holiday.
Our Troisièmes recently took a day trip to London to see Macbeth at the Globe Theatre. Students enjoyed them play held in an open Amphitheater, beautifully built to resemble the original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare’s original plays were performed. This was really a trip to be remembered!
Members of the American Section joined with other local community groups to collect garbage in the forest. Unfortunately, our quest for trash was hugely successful. We found two tires, a broken refrigerator drawer, and stuffed many, many bags with garbage including tin cans, food wrappers, styrofoam, plastic bags, and containers.
Our Troisième students were on an outing this past Friday to the Musée de la Grande Guerre. Our students were able to handle WWI munitions, see a piece of bread that is more than 150 years old, and explore the inside of the trenches. When we weren't seeing the exhibits, groups worked on understanding and identifying "Fake News" with their guides.
Our Quatrème students recently visited two key sites, covering the full spectrum of society's resource consumption and how we might reduce it. At Schneider Electric and the Syctom recycling plant they learned the realities of our collective responsibility and got some basic tools to help reverse our negative impacts on the planet.
The Figaro recently published the Palmarès d'Enseignement Bilingue, ranking 163 collèges and 118 lycées offering international, binational, or European sections.
Unsurprisingly, our Collège International took second place and the Lycée International first! Click here to read the article
The Lycée International community enjoyed a fabulous show on October 6, complete with traditional music and Bollywood dancing, to celebrate the successful conclusion of this year's India exchange. Thank you to the students and teachers of Mahatma Gandhi International School for entertaining us with such enthusiasm!
Our 52 Terminale students participated in photo shoot for their official yearbook portraits during Friday's lunch hour. They had a great time trying on the gowns, snapping candids and learning to wear mortarboards. It was a nice pick-me-up at the time of year when summer memories wane and the workload becomes increasingly intense.
Our traditional American Section Picnic celebrated once more our coming together as a community. Young kids running around and playing, older kids bonding while working, and parents connecting, that's what the American Section picnic is all about!
Welcome to our Indian guests! 19 students and two Indian teachers arrived in France late Monday evening. They kicked off the 15th annual edition of the exchange program on Tuesday with a welcome breakfast and words of bienvenue, a commemorative photo, a discovery of Section ENL and ENH classes, and a first visit to Paris with a ride on a bâteau mouche.
American Section Secondes (and future class of 2026!) embarked on the annual trip to la Vallée de Clécy, a magical, awe-provoking spot of natural beauty on the Orne river.This trip was the birth–as well as the reinforcement–of special high school friendships, and perhaps life-long ones. It allowed the incoming Roby students to mix with the Lycée ones and form one big American Section group.
Our Sixième accrobranche outing was the perfect venue for a hands-on and conscientious approach to teamwork and critical thinking. Intrepid heights and animalistic acrobatics were only the backdrop of a carefully woven patchwork of coming-of-age catharsis. The idyllic autumn day provided teachers, students, and a special parent with the magic of bonding and interdependency in woods.
We were delighted to invite our 52 Terminale students and their parents to the Section's traditional Terminale Welcome Cocktail. We gathered at the Golf de Fourqueux on a gorgeous summer evening for drinks and nibbles, catching up, anticipating graduation and university studies, and enjoying the calm before the storm.
Thank you to the members of our Volunteer Leadership Committee for organizing this week's Kick-Off Coffee Klatch and Volunteer Information Sessions. It was a convivial and efficient way to introduce Section parents, both new and old, to our many social events and to explain volunteering needs. There was ample time for socializing as well.
We were very pleased to welcome 92 new students and their families last Thursday at our annual Newcomers’ Get-Together. In spite of the rain, and some initial jitters for some, families were greeted warmly by the teachers, staff, and a wonderful group of volunteers. Thank you to all who attended!
Jon Boafo ’03
Grace Baghdadi ’18
Graham Speier
Kim Murphy
Jonathan Whitney ’97
Thomas Perkins, 1ère
Jaade Husson, CM1
Elena Auroy, 5ème
Voices of the American Section
- Alumnus
Jon Boafo ’03
“The American Section taught me the importance of having the right people around you. To this day, classmates from the Lycée are among my closest friends. American Section faculty were rock stars - they did everything to ensure that we had the best environment to grow. And I’ll be forever grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to immerse myself in other languages and cultures.”
- Alumna
Grace Baghdadi ’18
“The American Section provided the best preparation possible for college in the US. Not only was it an excellent academic foundation, thanks to our English and History classes, but it also allowed me access to American culture through various extracurricular clubs and the community. The French system also supplied me with the rigor necessary to succeed at a challenging place like Yale.”
- Faculty & Parent
Graham Speier
“It's a pleasure to teach tomorrow's leaders at the American Section. Our student body, composed of nationalities from all over the world, continue to impress me with their keen minds and curious spirits. I love guiding my students on the path to excellence, and take pride in helping them grasp the complexities of modern history. Students here are among the best minds out there today, making my job at the Section that much more engaging and enlightening.”
- Parent
Kim Murphy
“I chose the American Section of the Lycée International for my children because I wanted them to grow and learn in an environment similar to that of my own childhood in the United States, with the added bonus of learning with students from the other international sections of the school. In addition to learning an American curriculum, my children share American culture and traditions with their classmates. I’ve also become an active volunteer, which allows me to interact more with the faculty and staff as well as the other Section families. This community has become our children's American family in France.”
- Alumnus
Jonathan Whitney ’97
“Some of my closest friends, almost 25 years on, are people I met at the Lycée. Despite being separated over long distances we remain in close touch and try to see each other when we can. Having this core group of friends has been a great constant over a period of a lifetime that involves continuous change. Through college, starting out in the professional world, and eventually starting my own family, it has been wonderful to continue to grow up with some of the same people and see how all these different phases link together.”
- Student
Thomas Perkins, 1ère
“As an American Section student, I can take advantage of a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, as well as a wonderful and engaging academic life. In both the classroom and the podium during MUN, or working as a photographer during a yearbook photoshoot, the American Section gives us the ability to grow and learn skills, and helps us find who we are and who we’ll become after we leave.”
- Student
Jaade Husson, CM1
“I love the American Section. We don't just study grammar, spelling, sciences... but we also have time for art and library, amazing class projects and a lot of fun activities such as theater, community service, robotics, and Irish dancing. In the American Section I feel just like in my old school in the United States, but here my friends are from around the world.”
- Student
Elena Auroy, 5ème
“What I really love most about the American Section is the atmosphere: it is always cool and calm and you are always welcomed. It really makes you want to learn. Our teachers help us and joke with us, and they always find a way to make the lesson interesting. What I also like about the American Section is that they organize and truly put hard work into the dances and trips.”