College Francais Bilingue De Londres

Inspection of Collège Français Bilingue de Londres 87 Holmes Road, Kentish Town, London NW5 3AX

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Inspection dates: 16 to 18 September 2025

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are given an educational experience that inspires them to be the best they can, regardless of their background or starting point. Pupils delight in the first-class opportunities for learning, whether through the high-quality curriculum or the additional events, trips and activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s distinctive bilingual character underpins everything it does. The highly positive environment promotes a deep-seated respect for others. It also gives pupils the skills and understanding to take their place in society as citizens. They are extremely considerate of others and celebrate difference. As they note, ‘no one is judged’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have nothing but praise for their teachers and the way the school keeps them safe. They feel extremely well supported by their teachers and place great trust in them. Pupils say that staff do everything they can to help them achieve the best possible outcomes. Staff provide pupils with individual help with their work or with their personal concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. The school’s well-established routines ensure that everything runs smoothly and without fuss. This begins in early years, where children in the Nursery move from one activity to another quickly and politely. Older pupils arrive at classrooms early so they can collect the right books for the lesson from their lockers.

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better?

Everything this school does is purposeful, well thought out and focused on pupils’ education. Every decision contributes to helping pupils achieve the best possible outcomes. Clear routines and excellent relationships promote a highly positive ethos across the school.

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better?

The school’s bilingual nature ensures that pupils become fluent in French and English quickly. Where necessary, the school provides extra support to help pupils become confident in both languages. Teachers’ knowledge of pupils ensures that this support is targeted effectively. Pupils’ literacy and communication skills in both languages are excellent. However, the school’s work goes further than language acquisition. It uses its bilingual curriculum to give pupils a confident understanding of different cultures and traditions. This prepares them extremely effectively for the future. They have the skills, knowledge and understanding to negotiate both the French and British education systems when they leave.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is ambitious and broad. It follows the French curriculum for the most part but includes aspects of the English national curriculum. For example, the French civics programme is augmented effectively by the English personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. Pupils have a strong understanding about citizenship and how fundamental British values mesh with those of France. 16 to 18 September 2025 Teachers deliver the curriculum most effectively. They bring together techniques and approaches from both French and English education. For example, aspects of the French curriculum are broken down into small steps. This helps pupils remember the fundamental knowledge and skills. Staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) extremely well. This enables them to keep up with their peers. The school identifies pupils who need extra help swiftly and provides

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better?

well-targeted support. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve highly and as well as their peers.

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better?

Children in the early years get a strong start to their education. Routines and expectations are clear and embedded firmly in the school’s day-to-day work. Children respond very positively. They quickly understand how to behave well and to treat others with respect. Children learn the foundational skills that they need to move successfully into the primary years. Pupils quickly become bilingual readers and speakers, able to converse and write in French and English. They also develop their mathematical skills well, learning about number relationships and patterns. As a result, they are extremely well prepared for the move into Year 1.

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better?

The school’s work to extend the curriculum is first rate. There are a wide range of opportunities, from trips abroad and the Friday jam sessions to the Wednesday afternoon activities in primary. These develop pupils’ wider interests and increase their confidence most effectively. In secondary, the focus on civics and the PSHE programme ensure that pupils are taught about relationships and consent. Pupils are knowledgeable about different religious traditions. Careers education is woven through the curriculum so that pupils know what is available to them when they leave. Pupils contribute meaningfully to the school’s positive ethos. For example, pupils act as peer mediators. They help others to develop positive attitudes on the few occasions where pupils fall out with each other.

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better?

The school is led and managed extremely effectively. Staff contribute fully to making the school excellent and ensuring that pupils receive a first-class education. Staff well-being and workload are given proper attention, for example, by streamlining report writing. The trustees play a vital role in supporting the school and holding it to account in equal measure. They challenge the school effectively to ensure that the school complies fully with the independent school standards as well as the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage are also met.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 to 18 September 2025

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 16 to 18 September 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 100082 DfE registration number 202/6385

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School details

Inspection number 10391696 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Proprietor Collège Français Bilingue de Londres Limited Chair Laurent Barthier

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £15,440 to £18,306

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 to 30 September 2022 16 to 18 September 2025

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Information about this school

 The Collège Français Bilingue de Londres is an independent school for pupils aged three to sixteen.  The school has an exemption in place for the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage.  In the primary department, half of the curriculum is taught in French and half in English. In the secondary department, pupils study a common core of subjects with a French and English bilingual approach for all the pupils.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school provides after-school care for pupils aged from three to sixteen years.  The school is based at 87 Holmes Road, Kentish Town, London NW5 3AX. It uses a local sports hall for physical education at 170 Weedington Rd, London NW5 4NU.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, science, art and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and, where possible, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other subjects and activities.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met online with trustees, including the chair.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. 16 to 18 September 2025  Inspectors checked the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey, including written comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sam Johnson His Majesty’s Inspector 16 to 18 September 2025 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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