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Schools & Education in Biarritz

Good to know

Good to Know

  • Biarritz does not have a large, established IB or American-curriculum international school within the city itself — this is a real gap compared to bigger French nomad hubs like Nice, Lyon, or Bordeaux.
  • If a full international (IB/British/American) curriculum is a priority, most nomad families end up looking at schools in Bayonne, Bordeaux, or San Sebastián (Spain) rather than Biarritz itself.
  • The main named bilingual option in Biarritz, The International School, follows the French national (Éducation Nationale) framework with English immersion rather than an IB or foreign diploma — worth confirming exact grade levels and fees directly with the school before relying on it.
  • Biarritz's bilingual/international school options are small, private, and application-based (not zoned) — Genesis International School and The International School, Biarritz were the two locally identifiable options found, and neither publishes exact waitlist lengths, so applying with a wide runway (roughly 6-9 months ahead of a September start) is the safer approach.
  • Since 2022, homeschooling in France requires prior state authorization from the DASEN on one of four specific legal grounds — it is no longer enough to simply declare your intent, as was true before that reform.
  • The homeschooling authorization window is 1 March to 31 May for a September start, so this is not a decision you can finalize spontaneously right before a move.
  • We could not confirm a dedicated homeschooling co-op or meetup group physically based in Biarritz itself — families relying on homeschooling here should expect to build community via national organizations or online groups rather than assuming an established local in-person network.

Schools And Curricula

Overview
Biarritz is a small resort city (population ~25,000) without the large international/expat population of Paris, Lyon, or the French Riviera cities, so its dedicated international-school landscape is thin compared to bigger French hubs. There is essentially one named bilingual international school operating in Biarritz itself, plus a handful of private Catholic schools in town that offer bilingual (not full international-curriculum) tracks.
Commuting Alternatives
Families wanting a full IB, British, or American curriculum school more commonly enroll children in schools in nearby Bayonne, Bordeaux, or across the border in San Sebastián/Donostia, Spain (roughly 30-50 minutes' drive), rather than within Biarritz proper.
Other Bilingual Options
Several private Catholic schools in Biarritz (locally known for their 'bilingue' primary streams, e.g. immersion classes) offer partial English or Spanish bilingual sections within an otherwise standard French curriculum, but none currently offer an IB, British (IGCSE/A-Level), or American diploma track based in Biarritz itself.

Schools

  • The International School, Biarritz
    Type
    Private bilingual French-English school
    Curriculum
    French national curriculum (Éducation Nationale framework) supplemented with English-medium/bilingual instruction; not an IB or American-diploma school.
    Levels Offered
    Not confirmed in detail from available sources — appears to serve younger primary-age children based on available descriptions.

    Tuition

    Status
    not publicly disclosed
    Note
    No official tuition figures could be verified via search; families should contact the school directly for current fees.

Enrollment And Homeschooling

Homeschooling

Country
France
Who Can Apply
A child residing in France may receive education in the family regardless of nationality, so foreign-resident families in the Biarritz area are eligible to apply on the same basis as French nationals.
Ongoing Oversight
Approved families are subject to at least one annual pedagogical inspection by an académie inspector (who may be accompanied by a school psychologist) checking the child's command of core knowledge and skills, plus separate checks tied to any authorization renewal.
Application Window
Requests must normally be submitted to the DASEN between 1 March and 31 May for the following September start, though late requests can be made outside that window if the qualifying circumstance arises afterward.
Response And Appeal
The DASEN acknowledges the request and must issue a decision within two months of receiving a complete file; if there is no reply within that period the request is deemed accepted. If refused, families can appeal.
Legal Status Summary
Homeschooling (instruction en famille, IEF) remains legal in France but is no longer a simple declared right. Since a 2021 law (loi confortant le respect des principes de la République) took effect for new cases from September 2022, it changed from a declaration-based system to a prior-authorization system.
Core Subjects Expected
Instruction must cover French, mathematics, history, geography, civics, science, and physical education, with the aim of the child reaching the national 'common core' of knowledge by age 16.
Authorization Requirement
Parents wishing to homeschool must request permission from the DASEN (the Academic Director of National Education Services) for their département — for Biarritz this is the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département's education authority — and this authorization is granted only on one of four legally defined grounds (health, itinerant/traveling family situation, a child's intensive sporting/artistic training, or another specific situation tied to the child's own needs).
Local Biarritz Community Or Co Op
No documented, specifically Biarritz-based homeschooling co-op or support group was found in this research. Do not assume a local group exists on the strength of national trends alone. Families in the area are more realistically served by national French homeschooling associations (such as Les Enfants d'Abord, a homeschooling advocacy and support charity) that can help connect isolated families to whatever regional contacts exist in Pyrénées-Atlantiques/Nouvelle-Aquitaine, rather than a documented Biarritz-specific in-person co-op.
Context And Debate
The 2021-2022 reform was controversial: it eliminated homeschooling's prior status as a general right and replaced it with an authorization regime limited to four defined categories, and homeschooling advocacy groups have publicly opposed the shift.

International Bilingual School Enrollment

How Far In Advance To Apply
Treat 6-9 months ahead of the desired start (i.e., inquiring in autumn/winter for a September start) as the safer window for a bilingual private school seat, especially for popular entry points like the first year of maternelle/CP or the start of collège. This is a general best-practice estimate, not a figure either Biarritz school has published.
Realistic Process And Timing
Neither Biarritz school publishes a public waitlist length or exact cutoff date, so the guidance below reflects the general pattern seen at comparable small French bilingual/international schools rather than a Biarritz-specific published policy. In practice, small bilingual schools in France (class sizes are typically capped around 12-15 students per level) tend to fill available seats on a rolling basis, with places for the following September often committed by spring of the same year. Families relocating mid-year should contact schools directly, since a seat opening depends entirely on current enrollment and turnover, which these small schools do not publish.

Practical Notes

  • Both identified bilingual schools in Biarritz are private, so enrollment is a direct application to the school rather than a public-sector zoning process.
  • GIS explicitly builds in a personalized settling-in period for arriving students (trial half-day, up to 30 hours of French or English catch-up support, individual tutoring), which is a useful signal for how a small school handles a non-French- or non-English-speaking new arrival mid-year.
  • For the ordinary local French public school system (not bilingual/international), enrollment is via the mairie (town hall) and is zoned by residential address rather than by application/waitlist.

Local Options Identified

  • Genesis International School (GIS)
    Type
    Bilingual French/English private school, primary through collège (roughly ages 5-15)
    Notes
    Cambridge exam preparation centre; offers a personalized onboarding path for newly arrived non-native speakers, including catch-up language hours and individual tutoring during the transition period.
  • The International School, Biarritz (TIS)
    Type
    Bilingual French/English school
    Notes
    Describes its pedagogy as built on the French Education Nationale framework supplemented with international elements.

Typical Required Documents

  • Completed enrollment/application form (school-specific)
  • Child's birth certificate (with translation if not in French)
  • Photocopy of child's passport/ID
  • Passport-style photo of the child
  • Most recent school report(s)/transcripts
  • Letter of recommendation from the child's most recent teacher (where applicable)
  • Proof of vaccinations (required for French school enrollment generally)
  • Proof of address in the Biarritz area
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026

This section has no cited sources.

More About Biarritz

Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.