top of page

Keep up to date with our news (2023/24)

We have also added some useful links to support your child's French learning journey at home.  

February 2024

Response from Retirement Home Maison Fleurie

We received a lovely letter from Maison Fleurie Retirement Home this week thanking the students for their greeting cards sent last term. Well done and thank you to all who participated!

LettreCartesVoeuxEPHADMaisonFleurie.jpg
DSC_3483.jpg

January 2024

The library is moving!

Samuel Ryder Academy has asked us to move our library (following the work and improvements taking place at the school). We'll be doing a 'trial run' this Saturday with a new location. The entrance will be through the door in the corridor of the Maternelle block.

Adult French classes

Please let us know if you are interested in joining our adult French classes. In particular, the class running during session 2 (10.50-12.35) is a small class and would benefit from a few new joiners to keep it viable. This would suit anyone with some basic French already (i.e. not a complete beginner) - we would describe the level of this class as Elementary or Pre-Intermediate. The class running during session 1 (8.55-10.40) is an Upper-Intermediate class. You are most welcome to try a class before committing to the term.

November 2023

Invitation to end-of-year shows 

Most classes are planning to prepare a poem/song this half term and are inviting parents to come and see them in class at the end of term on Saturdays 2 and 9 December.

New class: Maternelle Petite Section

We are delighted to welcome back one of our former teachers who has returned to live in St Albans after a few years elsewhere. Séverine will be taking our new Maternelle Petite Section class which opens in January (Group 1 - 8.55am-10.40am). Thank you and welcome, Séverine! Entrance tests for new pupils will take place at the beginning of December. If you would like to enrol your child, please contact us as soon as possible.

Project: Greeting cards for elderly people

Thank you to all the students who took part in the 2023 project!

What is the project? It's a correspondence project with isolated elderly people over the festive period, organised by the FLAM (Français Langue Maternelle) association. All the Petites Écoles like ours, which are part of the FLAM network, are invited to take part. This project is very close to our hearts. We took part for the first time in 2020, when the pandemic made the elderly even more isolated, and it was a great success. We've decided to make it an annual project! - A moment of happiness for these people suffering from isolation - Values of solidarity instilled in our young people - A written expression activity for the older children How does it work this year? We ask the pupils to decorate or write a short message (depending on their age) on a greetings card (e.g. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, etc.). If they wish, the children can insert a small gift in the greetings card (which goes in the envelope such as photos, drawings, tea bags, seeds to plant, bookmarks, etc.). We'll send them out.

ProjetCartesVoeux2.jpg
CertificatsDELF.jpg

Information regarding DELF Exam 2024

October 2023

From CE1, we encourage children to register for the French language exam DELF (Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française). Registration is by no means compulsory.

Why take the DELF exam? This exam validates your children's level of French and gives them their first taste of what it's like to sit an exam. If we suggest that you enrol your children, it's quite simply because they all have the ability to do so at this stage of their learning. The exam requires little preparation because the work we do at Petits Écoliers already prepares the pupils well. Once they have passed the exam, the children have an internationally recognised certificate of their level of French for life. This motivates them and gives them an extra reason to invest in their French lessons. Exam Levels The exams are adapted to the age of the children: DELF Prim for primary school children and DELF Junior for secondary school children. https://www.france-education-international.fr/en/delf-dalf Exam calendar The Institut français de Londres organises special Saturday sessions each year for small FLAM schools like ours. The exam dates are as follows: - DELF Prim A1.1 and A1 - 20 April - DELF Prim A2 - 27 April The deadline for registration for DELF Prim is 8 February. - DELF Junior A1 and B1 - 11 May - DELF Junior A2 and B2 - 18 May The deadline for registration for the DELF Junior is 25 March. Our educational director, Christelle, is organising a meeting at the school on Saturday 7 January to explain the exam and answer any questions.

Library

September 2023

The library will be open from this Saturday from 10.20am to 11.10am. Children can borrow up to 6 books and 1 DVD each. There is no charge. We encourage you to come and pick up books. Although we'll try to get the children into the library from time to time during the year, we don't have enough time during school hours to take them regularly, so we're counting on you, the parents, to encourage them to read!

Subscription with Ecole des Loisirs

L'Ecole des Loisirs offers a selection of books for children (8 books over the year: one per month between November and June). Les Petits Ecoliers organises a group subscription so that our families can benefit from a reduced rate. Subscribing to the Ecole des Loisirs selection of books is entirely optional. The Ecoles des Loisirs book selection for 2023/2024 is here: https://abonnements.ecoledesloisirs.fr/

Subscription with Bayard Magazines

Subscriptions to Bayard magazines are also optional. You can find a selection of magazines here: http://www.bayard-jeunesse.com/

Reading in a Bookstore

​

Useful links

Association FLAM

Since 2013, Les Petits Ecoliers has been part of the FLAM network (Français Langue Maternelle) established by AEFE (Association de l'Enseignement du Français à l'Etranger), a network of French schools. As a member of the Parapluie FLAM, our teachers have access to excellent training sessions and conferences to facilitate the exchange of best practice and teaching materials with other schools.

​

French community around St Albans

French Associations

  • Français du monde – ADFE - Association Français du monde

  • UFE - Union des Français de l'étranger

Learning French

bottom of page