The French Embassy in Canada is proud to support the establishment of a new French international school in Saint John (NB) the 9th French school in Canada

SAINT JOHN – The city of Saint John, New Brunswick, has been chosen as the site of the new Don Bosco Saint John French international school of the Atlantic Provinces (Lycée International Français des Provinces Atlantiques Don Bosco Saint John). This new international educational institution will be a part of the Don Bosco network and will be located in Saint John’s Market Square area. Doors are set to open to students in September 2024. Registration has already begun.

The future French international school will be open to Canadian, French and foreign students, from daycare (age 3) to 12^th grade (Terminale). The school will be supported by the Agency for French Education Abroad (Agence pour l’enseignement français à l’étranger), which manages a network of 566 accredited institutions in 138 countries.

The official project launch took place on Monday, January 16, in Saint John, in the presence of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs; the Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Glen Savoie; the Minister responsible for Economic Development, Arlene Dunn; Saint John Mayor Donna Noade Reardon; Paulette Hicks, CEO of Envision Saint John, a regional chamber of commerce; the Director of the Lycée international français des Provinces Atlantiques (LIFPA), Sylvain Olivier; the Consul General of France in the Atlantic Provinces, Johan Schitterer; and Charlotte Montel, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of France; among others.

©City of Saint John

Sylvain Olivier, Director and President of the LIFPA explained: “Our school will be open to students aged 3 to 17 and will offer the French national educational curriculum. As an international institution, its strength lies in the worldwide network of Don Bosco institutions, of which it is a part and which are present in over 37 countries. We will educate not only Anglophone and Francophone Canadian children, children of foreign nationalities whose families live in the Saint John region and who wish for them to learn French and English without delay, and children of French expatriates, but also more than 110 French youths who will arrive from France each year to learn and achieve bilingualism.”

French Ambassador to Canada, Michel Miraillet, added: “This project is an important step in deepening the relationship between France and New Brunswick. The establishment of a new accredited French educational institution is an initiative that the Embassy has been working on for a number of years. Given the history between our two countries and our geographic and cultural proximity, there was no doubt about the idea of establishing one, or even more, Lycées français in the region. This is a project that the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, himself, had called for.”

This new project is part of the overall initiative of deepening educational cooperation between France and New Brunswick and the rest of Canada in support of la Francophonie, one of the key areas of French diplomacy in Canada. This new lycée français will be the ninth in Canada.* All lycées français ensure educational excellence and a broad international outlook.

To learn more about the Lycée International Français des Provinces Atlantiques, visit its website at www.lifpa-donbosco.com.

* Lycées français accredited by the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) located in Canada: