About us

We believe the French School contributes to a better and more diverse educational environment

Between 220 and 250 million people across the world speak French, either as a first or a second often school language. The presence of a French School may therefore attract a large number of people who wish to work and live in Norway.

The vast international network of public French schools offers a multitude of possibilities and programs supervised by the AEFE (the Agency for French Education Abroad): 130 countries, 310 000 local students and 115 000 French nationals. Norway and Oslo should not opt out of this fantastic network.

By supporting the French School in Oslo, foreign and Norwegian companies will contribute to an increased geographic mobility and range of their employees, who could enroll their children in an AEFE school in the global network and in this way ensure the children’s educational continuity.

In order to attract talent, Oslo should be able to offer an educational environment of high international quality. The French School offers school fees for primary and secondary students that are clearly lower than those of most independent international schools. The Norwegian state covers 85% of the school money for students in the two final years of the lycée (videregående).

The French School in Oslo has succeeded in combining the difficult balance of excellence and social diversity. In 2023, 100% of the 24 last-year students obtained the baccalaureate, many with honors. Our students come from all religious and social environments and boroughs across the city. They represent around 40 nationalities.

A baccalaureate from the French School makes it easy for students to attend French or francophone universities, as well as English-speaking universities around the world, many of which gives applicants extra points for a French baccalaureate. Such possibilities diversify the educational options of our graduates. Many French universities rank among the best in the world.

Steady increase in enrollment: the school has now reached a limit at all levels

Between 2008 and now, the number of students has increased significantly, and the French School counted 675 students in August 2023. The buildings in Skovveien no longer respond to the requirements of the Norwegian school authorities in terms of square meters per student. The classes of 3^ème to terminale – the last year of middle school and the three years of lycée – are therefore now located at Vulkan, except for the experimental scientific classes, which are held in more suitable and better equipped rooms in a nearby building. These premises come at a considerable cost.

The temporary facilities at Vulkan affects 159 students and create problems at several levels:

Hygiene and security (problems with ventilation, heating …)
Teaching situation (science labs with limited space and functionality)
Difficulty developing new educational programs
Difficult working conditions for both students and teachers (classroom limit of 20 students, lack of social areas…)

A short history of the French school

The French School in Oslo was created in 1961, by French-Norwegian parents who wished to give their children a French education. In the beginning it only had twenty-some pupils and teaching was done at St Sunniva Catholic school in Oslo. After receiving a small grant from the French government in 1965, the school relocated to Møllergata skole. At the request of the French ambassador, a day care unit was opened in 1966 at Katarinahjemmet convent in Majorstuen. In 1968, all the primary classes moved to the British School at Smestad. And in September the next year, these classes transferred to Hafrsfjordgata, where the primary school stayed for the following 10 years, while the middle school classes were held at Huseby skole and later at Eiksmarka skole. It was only in the spring of 1979 that the French ambassador managed to convince the French Foreign Office to set off money in their budget for the school in Oslo.

In 1982, the French embassy received the authorization to move the school into the more suitable buildings of former Vestheim skole in Skovveien 9. As a result of the ever-increasing number of students, the school added the final section in 1990: preparatory classes for the baccalauréat (videregående). This new addition resulted in a new name: Lycée français d’Oslo. The acquisition of the other building (that of the English school) allowed the school to gather all classes in one place, from preschoolers to terminale (preparing for the baccalauréat).

The Lycée Français René Cassin was officially inaugurated in 1994 by the French ambassador and the Mayor of Oslo. René Cassin was the main author of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968.

The French School
needs our support

The number of students continues to increase, and the school now needs more space in order to respect the requirements of the Norwegian authorities when it comes to square meters per student, and number of students per teacher, specifically in the pre- and primary school sections. The two last classes of middle school and the two years of Lycée are now located at Vulkan. We need to find a solution for the future operation of the school and better working conditions for both students and teachers.

The school needs to leave the premises in Skovveien in spring 2025. The City of Oslo wants to upgrade the buildings. We will therefore be on the rental market in Oslo, which means drastically increased rental expenses. The foundation wishes to maintain the school fees at a level that will ensure the social diversity of our students and continue to offer a high-quality education.

The Fondation René Cassin d’Oslo is dedicated to assist and support the school in its work to achieve this goal.