IBS of Provence is an average school at best. By USA and UK independent school standards it is far…read morebelow par in terms of teaching, assessment, and quality of programs. The school is run by administrators who are not educators, and it shows at every level -- from curriculum and teaching standards to basic school organization. Teachers are not paid well, thus quality is hit or miss. Classrooms are overcrowded. Pedagogy is often archaic, often focused solely on test taking. In many classes there are no textbooks and no available curriculum aside from a perfunctory list of topics. Resources for child-centered learning are sorely lacking. The arts program is minimal. There is no music program after primary school. The sports program on the other hand is overstaffed. Learning support for a school of around 600 consists of only a couple individuals who cannot possibly meet the needs of the student body. I say this as a parent of a child who went there for four years and as a retired teacher. Sadly, it has no competitor in terms of international bilingual schools in the area. If there were one, this school would either step up or fold. The most positive thing is exposure to kids from over 60 countries, and for some parents, that might be reason enough to go, especially for an expat year or two. But if a high standard in independent education is the goal, this is not the place.

We did not feel that the cost of IBS was at all commensurate with the quality of the school.  Our…read moreson was there for ~10 weeks before we pulled him, unfortunately losing a substantial deposit in the process.  Here's why: we repeatedly asked for an assessment of his grade-level without response (this was after a year of the schools in the States being shut), the primary teacher our son was assigned seemed to have no teaching experience or credentials, nor did he seem to be receiving support, this same teacher did not know that our son could read. We felt a 1st grade teacher should know that the first week. Mistakes happen, but the organizational response felt like a shrug.   We've shifted to Ecole Val Saint Andre, also a bilingual school but with far more French instruction.  His teacher is at the gate at pick-up and drop-off and she's actively engaged, even excited, to talk through his progress with us.