The École de Gaulle-Adenauer is a private bilingual Franco-German school in Bonn with a kindergarten (école maternelle) and a primary school. Its history goes back to 1950, when a kindergarten and primary school opened for families of the French embassy and armed forces; a collège and a lycée were added later, but after the embassy moved to Berlin in 1999 the upper classes closed and the school returned to kindergarten and primary level. Since 1990 it has been linked to the AEFE by agreement and recognised by the French education ministry, and since 2001-2002 its primary school has been a staatlich anerkannte Ersatzschule of North Rhine-Westphalia, meaning it counts as a regular German primary school. 169 children from 32 countries attend. Lessons are in French and German on the one teacher, one language principle, partly as a whole class and partly in half-class language groups, following the French and North Rhine-Westphalia curricula together. English starts in the second half of grade 1 with two 45-minute lessons a week. Children of French families without German get half an hour of German every morning for the first 12 weeks. After grade 4 (CM1) children move to Gymnasium and other schools under state rules; the school has a partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium, which runs a Franco-German track up to the AbiBac.
Key facts
Programmes
French programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French, German
Class size
in the kindergarten two to three adults per group of up to 25 children; some primary lessons are taught in half groups
About the fees The website does not publish primary school tuition: it only says that parents' contributions are collected by a separate association, F2, which covers bilingual programme costs not funded by the state; no amounts are given. Since September 2024 kindergarten fees are charged by the City of Bonn under the state childcare law. French families can apply for a scholarship.
Admissions The kindergarten takes children from age three: families apply through the city KiTa-NET system or the school's online form, and the child goes straight onto the waiting list; when a place is available, the family is invited to meet the head. For primary school, a child whose native language is not French must already understand French, after at least a year in the school's kindergarten or a stay in a French-speaking country; families who do not speak French at home are advised to start no later than the last kindergarten year. The child must be confident in at least one of the two languages. After applying, the child goes onto the waiting list; the admissions committee meets by February at the latest and families are told about places right afterwards; mid-year entry is possible if places are free. Waiting lists are long, so families are advised to apply as early as possible. French families can apply for a French state scholarship through the consulate general's committee in Frankfurt. Children of 32 nationalities attend.
Stages and year groups Grades PS-GS, CP-CM1 (1-4). École maternelle from age three (Petite, Moyenne, Grande Section) under the French education ministry curriculum; primary school for 4 years, CP-CM1 (grades 1-4), under the French and North Rhine-Westphalia curricula together. The school is accredited by France (homologation) and recognised by the state as an Ersatzschule, so pupils can continue in either the French or the German system. There are no IB, Cambridge or Abitur qualifications at the school; after CM1 children move to Gymnasium, Gesamtschule or Realschule, including the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium with its Franco-German track up to the AbiBac.
Address Meckenheimer Straße 45, 53179 Bonn (Mehlem)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
AEFE · accreditationThe school is an AEFE partner school (conventionné), with its curriculum recognised by the French education ministry.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
AEFEAgency for French Education Abroad
It runs the network of French schools worldwide, while the accreditation itself, the homologation, is granted by the French education ministry and inspected by French state inspectors. A leaver from a homologated school moves into a school in France without an entrance examination. Homologation is granted stage by stage, so it sometimes covers only part of the year groups.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →French programme
The state programme of France. A school is homologated by the French ministry of education, and a leaver may move into a school in France without entrance tests. Homologation is granted stage by stage, so it sometimes covers only part of the year groups.
What this means for this school. Which year groups of this school are covered by homologation - only the primary ones, or all the way to the final year - is not stated here. The difference matters: it decides whether the school takes a child through to the French baccalaureate or hands them on to another school halfway.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: The kindergarten and primary school share one building in Mehlem, renovated and extended in 2008-2011. The school library holds more than 6000 books in German, English and French: each child takes home three books a week, one in each language, and kindergarten groups have their own book corner. Lunch is a choice of hot meals from a regional caterer or a cold packed lunch from home, each with its own dining room. The kindergarten has a nature area, and groups go to the nearby forest every week. Lessons run 8:15 to 15:00, on Wednesdays until 11:35 followed by free care until 15:00; from 15:00 to 17:00 there is after-school care (Offene Ganztagsschule) with clubs, with limited places.
Clubs and activities: Tanzen (dancing) · Theater (theatre) · Rhythmus/Trommeln (rhythm and drums) · Kunst (art) · Jahreszeitliches Basteln (seasonal crafts) · Schulhofspiele/Ballspiele (playground and ball games) · Spielerisch Deutsch/Französisch lernen (learning German and French through play) · Zaubern (magic tricks)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
A mixed Franco-German staff teaches both curricula: French teachers report to the French educational inspectorate, German teachers to the state school authority. There are lessons with two teachers in the class (Binom), when the French teacher supports children who do not speak German. The kindergarten has educators trained to French education ministry standards, a German educator and assistants (ATSEM). The school does not publish teacher numbers or individual qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
The school says nothing on its website about security, medical care or pupil support.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Bonn, Germany · est. 1950 · Private