The french–english bilingual class caters for children between the ages of 5 and 10 (from french extraction), or those who have been intensively exposed to the french language. Since it’s creation in 1996, the class has grown substantially, increasing to 60 children at the time of the 2002 America’s Cup race.

The 40 students we have today are split into two classes: the Junior class and the Senior class, which comprises Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 from the NZ system. This roughly matches the second and third  cycles of the french education system.

Each class is structured into 3 groups according to level. Each level follows a specific programme using adapted teaching tools. The excellent pupil to teacher ratio allows for flexibility.

The teaching structure has evolved over the years. Particularly, in 1999, according to recommendations from the French National Inspector of Education, Jacques Marchal, and John McCaffery, professor at the Centre of Linguistics and Language at the Auckland College of Education, but also in an attempt to reinforce the french learning, and improve adaptation to the specific linguistic requirements of each age level. The children between 5 and 8 years now receive one day in english, and the rest of the week’s instruction in french i.e. 80% of the week in french and 20% in english.

This allows a more solid anchorage in the minority language, the school being the best place to receive this base. The children in the 8 – 10 year bracket, study three days in french (60%), and the other two days are given to english instruction.

The organisation of education in this way, allows the children, to leave their primary school 6 years later, bilingual.

This proven method is the ideal choice for those parents from France who wish for their children to reintegrate into the french education system while learning a little English (see Families experiences). For those who are spending a limited amount of time in New Zealand and want their children to develop their english, we recommend that they enrol their children in a fully english class