British Section
Lycée International
Victor Hugo

Historical overview

• 1975-80 British Aerospace families move to Toulouse on Airbus programme
  
  
• Children integrated into local French schools after 6 month intensive French programme
  
  
• 1981 Parents form 1901 association "English 31" to organise weekly English lessons for English-speaking children in local French schools. The Association's objective is to ensure English-speaking children maintain their fluency in their mother tongue while progressing through the French school programme. Toulouse is in the Haute-Garonne, the 31st departement of France, hence the Association's name.
  
  Lessons delivered on Wednesday afternoons when French schools are not in session
  
  
• 1983 Académie de Toulouse (local education authority) announces plans for a Lycée International at Colomiers
  
  
• Académie invites English 31 to group all secondary children in new school plus offers facilities in existing Colomiers primary school for younger children
  
  
• German school offered the same facility
  
  
• English 31 approaches principal employer, BAe for funding
  
  
• BAe agrees to funding and recruits L. Albiston in Dec. 1983 to establish British Section in new Lycée
  
  
• Sept. 1984 Lycée International opens including British Section and German school
  
  
• Paul Bert primary school, Colomiers houses primary section of British Section and German school
  
  
• British Section lessons provided free of charge to children whose parents work for sponsoring company
  
  
• Non-sponsored anglophone pupils allowed to attend lessons upon payment by parents of contribution to E31
  
  
• Sept. 1984 British Section opens with 66 pupils and 2 full-time teachers
  
  
• E31 pupils follow same curriculum as French colleagues and take the French Baccalauréat
  
  
• E31 pupils are taught English following English National Curriculum by British Section staff when French colleagues learn English as a foreign language
  
  Lessons: four hours per week at primary level, six hours per week at secondary level
  
  Ave. English class size, 8
  
  
• Jan. 1986 Lycée International inaugurated and named Lycée Victor Hugo
  
  
• 1987 British Section pupil number pass 100
  
  Secondary Section expands into Collège Voltaire
  
  2 further full-time teachers recruited
  
  Académie opens French beginners' class at Paul Bert
  
  
• 1987 first candidates take O level English 100% successs rate
  first candidates take Baccalauréat 100% success rate
  first candidates apply to UK university 100% success rate
  
  
• 1989 first GCSE taken 100% success rate
  
  
• Jan-June 1996 British Section numbers increase with arrival of British Aerospace regional aircraft population, 137 pupils aged from 4 to 15
  
  
• Initial French integration classes established at two centres, thereafter pupils dispersed into 37 local schools to consolidate French with support from peripatetic French teachers
  
  Summer school and cultural intergration programme begin
  
  
• Sept. 1996 weekly primary English lessons available for new pupil population
  
  
• Only 3 pupils return to UK for educational reasons
  
  
• Sept 1998 British Section has 278 pupils
  
  
• Section delivers English lessons in one primary school, integrated and weekly, and four secondary schools
  
  
• British Section delivers Section Européenne programme to French pupils at Lycée
  
  
• Total hours of English lessons delivered per week: 115
  
  
• Section has 4 full-time English teachers (incl. head)
  6 part-time English teachers
  6 part-time French teachers
  15 part-time homework support student teachers
  1 full-time admin. assistant
  2 part-time admin. assistants