French school
Colombo-Sri Lanka International
French International School
of Colombo - Sri Lanka
A tour of the school
A French and International School
The French international school of Colombo (EFIC) is a French establishment of excellence, created in 1979. It therefore celebrated 40 years of existence.
Teaching is done in French and English. Students also take Sinhala awakening lessons and from middle school they can choose other foreign languages.
Our school, due to its history and the tradition of opening French establishments, is a place of linguistic and cultural encounters and exchanges.
EFIC welcomes students of all nationalities, from Preschool to Terminale.
EFIC offers quality education in a reassuring environment conducive to child development for all families, expatriates or long-established in the country. It also welcomes students from Sri Lankan families.
Our history
Among all the international schools in Colombo, there is the French school, the only establishment that really allows the learning of French as the main language.
EFIC is a member of the AEFE network as an approved establishment. The school is managed by a private law association, the Association of Parents of Students of the EFIC and has signed an administrative, financial and educational agreement with the AEFE. This agreement relates in particular to the conditions of assignment and remuneration of staff members of the national education system and to the allocation of subsidies. These establishments maintain a constant management dialogue with the AEFE.
As such, the school is one of 496 French schools abroad approved by the French Ministry of National Education and 50 establishments in the Asia-Pacific zone offering education that meets the requirements of the programs of the 'French National Education.
Located in the heart of the capital, Colombo, the establishment currently hosts around 50 students of more than 10 different nationalities, half of whom are French.
A dozen teachers supervise the students. The rest of the staff is made up of management, administrative and technical staff.
Parents' interviews
Joaquin Del Jesus, Director of EFIC
On behalf of the entire team of the French International School of Colombo, I would like to express our pleasure in welcoming the students entrusted to us for this new school year.
I would also like to express my pleasure in having joined the EFIC community, and thank its members for the welcome they have given me.
Teachers and staff members have worked to organize a warm welcome and a school year rich in learning, both academic and educational, for our students. This year will mark a new stage for the school. First of all, the Management Committee has been renewed, its members are motivated and hard at work to ensure the future of the establishment. In addition, the school project is being updated and will be validated at the first School Council. You will then be invited to consult it.
This project reaffirms the anchoring of the EFIC as an establishment under agreement with the Agency for Foreign Education (AEFE) and its strong insertion in the French-speaking community of Colombo and in its close environment.
Our strengths are numerous:
- Our school is multilingual, five languages are taught there, while respecting the French curriculum and offering a fluent level of English to our students.
- There are 315 million French speakers in the world,
- The French Baccalaureate is internationally recognized,
- It allows the pursuit of studies in higher education all over the world,
- The results of the schools in the network in national exams are excellent and better than in mainland France,
- The teachers in the network have training provided by Inspectors and National Education trainers.
- Our schools implement innovative educational projects
- We belong to a global network of 522 establishments in 139 countries supported by the French State.
Above all, this new school project expresses very clearly the ambition that we collectively have for our students: based on the fundamental values of success, well-being and respect, our approach is based on the strengths of the French system and aims to best support our students both in their academic progress and in their development as future citizens.
We know that the academic success of each student requires rigour, effort and hard work and we carry this requirement together. We also know that it is only fully effective when the student thrives in the community and feels confident within it. The search for educational excellence on the one hand and the support of our students in ambitious projects on the other hand will of course be part of our priorities. We will also have the ambition to accompany them beyond, in the construction of their personality by backing our approach on their commitment in a community rich in the multiplicity of its cultures, in the image of the school and education. French which is enriched by its adjustments to the Sri Lankan context.
Concretely, this year we are embarking on the process that will lead to the EFE3D label (Commitment level) of the school by the AEFE (meaning French Establishment for Foreigners in a Sustainable Development Approach).
Openness to the world and to the richness of its languages and cultures will be at the heart of our educational projects by offering expatriate interventions, outings and educational trips that will emerge according to the evolution of health situations and geopolitics. These projects will be backed by ever-increasing work around the school climate and inclusion. Finally, the links within our community will be strengthened through multiple projects to develop the feeling of belonging to the EFIC community, which benefits from its family format. We are indeed fortunate to benefit from the presence of a high-quality Alliance Française and an involved and responsive Embassy to support us in our projects.
The context, in particular health, nevertheless requires us to remain vigilant. We will keep you informed of changes to the health instructions.
Finally, I would like to thank each family for the confidence shown in the school by the registration of their child or children, a confidence very often renewed from year to year. And I wish students, staff members and families an excellent school year made up of formative projects and unifying moments of pleasure.
Joaquin Del Jesus