French education overseas

The Agence pour l’enseignement français à l’étranger (Agency for French Education Abroad – AEFE), an operator of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, manages and supports a network of approximately 550 schools in 138 countries.

This network welcomes more than 365,000 students, 60% of whom are foreign students, to whom it guarantees access to educational and pedagogical excellence throughout the world. The network of French high schools overseas is unique in terms of its size and density, as well as its unity. It is also guaranteed by the accreditation granted and verified by the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports and is one of the key players in France’s external development.

The AEFE reconciles the provision of a public education service for French expat families with the promotion of our language, our culture and the values of French education by opening up to foreign students.

The Agency therefore implements an innovative educational policy, in line with the curriculum of the French Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, while being open to the language and culture of the host country.

By enrolling your children in an accredited French educational institution, you are choosing educational quality. It implies a willingness to acquire a plurilingual education and cultural openness. It means choosing a culture of autonomy, reflection and social responsibility, as well as knowing how to live together and preparing for citizenship. This model is adapted to the public and to local contexts, in accordance with the regulations of the countries concerned, in collaboration with the French diplomatic posts.

The major reforms of the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports – in particular the reform of the high school in view of the new high school diploma in 2021 – are fully implemented to ensure the quality of the educational offer to families and students in full compliance with French directives. The management staff, the staff detached from the National Education and the staff recruited on local contracts are all mobilised in these projects.

The excellent exam results (diplôme national du brevet (DNB) and baccalauréat) are very good indicators of the quality of the training. The fact that our former students continue their studies in the best schools and universities in France and overseas is another demonstration of this.

The French education network overseas is completed by two schemes, the LabelFrancÉducation and FLAM. They respond to the great diversity of demand for education in French throughout the world. Accordingly, the development of excellent bilingual sections in overseas education systems is encouraged by the award of the LabelFrancÉducation. In addition, the learning of our language by French children who do not attend a French educational establishment overseas is supported by the FLAM (French as a mother tongue) initiative.

La Petite Ecole Hanoi will be applying for the accreditation as early as possible and is looking forward to becoming a member of the AEFE network, like the majority of Odyssey schools.