Centre International de Valbonne
State school in Valbonne with six competitive international sections, including an American section taught partly in English. Leads to the baccalauréat français international at a fraction of private school fees.
Languages spoken at Centre International de Valbonne
What Centre International de Valbonne offers English speakers in Valbonne
The campus at Valbonne, in the middle of Sophia Antipolis, is a state school, so there are none of the fees the private international schools charge. Its scale is unusual: 2,300 pupils of sixty-five nationalities on twelve hectares of pine woodland, running from sixième up to post-baccalauréat CPGE preparatory classes, with a boarding internat d'excellence at lycée level and a rugby sevens academy. Six international sections operate, German, American, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and Russian, plus a French-Italian Esabac stream. The English-language route is the American section, so if you were expecting a British one, this is not it.
Entry is not automatic and the school says so. The collège admits only pupils in an international section, and it looks for demonstrated ability in the section language or a real aptitude for learning one. Those sections now lead to the baccalauréat français international, the BFI, which replaced the older option internationale from the 2024 session. The BFI carries more teaching in the partner language plus a non-language subject taught in it, so it is a heavier commitment than a language option, not a bonus bolted onto a normal bac.