← Back to the rankingÉcole Française de Hambourg - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Hamburg, Germany · est. 1979 · Private
Illustration · Hamburg
The École Française de Hambourg - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a private French school in Hamburg with a kindergarten (école maternelle) and a primary school, accredited by the French education ministry and linked to the AEFE by agreement. Its history goes back to 1979 with a small Franco-German school that later merged with a French school into the Lycée Français de Hambourg; on 1 August 2020 the secondary classes moved to the new state Franco-German Gymnasium (Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium), and the École Française became a separate school for children aged 3 to 11. Teaching follows the French education ministry curricula; French is the main language of instruction at native level, the kindergarten runs two thirds in French and one third in German, and primary pupils have German every day: 5 hours of German and 2 hours of general studies a week under the Hamburg curriculum, with separate German as a second language groups for French-speaking children. English starts in grade 1. The primary school is recognised by Hamburg as an Ersatzschule and the kindergarten as a city Kita. In 2023 the school had 418 children of 46 nationalities. After CM2 (grade 5) pupils can continue in the French track of the Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium and prepare for the Franco-German Abitur.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $1 762 a year
1 560 EUR
Programmes
French programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French, German
Class size
in the kindergarten 19-23 children per group (Hamburg maximum 25), in grades 1-5 19-23 pupils (maximum 23)
Registration fee
≈ $249
220 EUR
About the fees Primary school tuition for 2026-2027 is 1560 euros a year for the first child, 1404 euros for the second (10% discount) and 1170 euros from the third (25% discount), in ten monthly instalments; it includes textbooks, workbooks and excursions during school hours, while class trips are extra. As an Ersatzschule, the school may not charge more than 250 euros a month. Kindergarten for 2025-2026: most costs are covered by city Kita-Gutschein vouchers; families pay their own share, set by the city according to income, household size and care hours (48 to 2448 euros a year), plus a special French kindergarten programme fee of 1056 to 2436 euros a year. Fees are tax-deductible because the association is non-profit. French families can apply for an AEFE scholarship, others for an association scholarship.
Admissions The kindergarten (Petite Section) admits children who turn 3 in the calendar year; children born between 1 January and 30 June can join the Toute Petite Section from their third birthday. Children who turn 6 in the year start CP (grade 1); the condition is sufficient French, because French is the main language of instruction and is taught at native level. Applications are made online through Eduka, and admissions are handled by the school office. The French AEFE network is open to children of French citizens living abroad and admits children of other nationalities; children of 46 nationalities attend. Families without French citizenship can ask the association for a partial or full fee waiver.
Stages and year groups Grades TPS-GS, CP-CM2 (1-5), 20 classes. École maternelle (cycle 1): Petite, Moyenne and Grande Section from age 3, plus the Toute Petite Section, which is not recognised by Education nationale. Primary school for 5 years: cycle 2 - CP, CE1, CE2 (grades 1-3), cycle 3 - CM1, CM2 (grades 4-5); all classes are accredited by the French education ministry. Teaching follows the French curricula, with German and general studies under the Hamburg curriculum. In 2023 there were 7 kindergarten groups and 13 primary classes. There are no IB, Cambridge or Abitur qualifications; after CM2 pupils move to the French track of the Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium (Franco-German Abitur).
Address Hartsprung 23, 22529 Hamburg (Lokstedt)
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
Clubs and activities: Chor (kindergarten choir)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers30
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: French primary teachers (professeurs des écoles), permanent and on local contracts; German teachers
According to the 2023 school project: 13 permanent French primary teachers seconded by the AEFE, 10 French teachers on local contracts and 7 German teachers, one of whom also teaches English. Each kindergarten group has an assistant (ASEM); after-school care has about 20 educators. Heads and teachers are recruited by the AEFE. The school has a coordinating teacher for children with special educational needs.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school runs the French anti-bullying programme pHARe: a five-person team receives special training on bullying and cyberbullying and follows a protocol for handling cases, with class representatives and parents involved. The after-school service has a child protection concept. Children with special needs have individual support plans (PPRE, PAI, PAP, PPS) and support under Hamburg law together with the district centre ReBBz Eimsbüttel.
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 data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data61 "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 8 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