← Back to the rankingÉcole française de Sarrebruck et Dilling
Saarbrucken, Germany · est. 1977 · Private
Illustration · Saarbrucken
The École française de Sarrebruck et Dilling (EFSD) is a private French school with a kindergarten and a primary school in Saarbrücken, run by a parents' association. It grew out of the little school of the French Lycée Maréchal Ney, opened in Saarland in 1945, and became an independent school in 1977; since 2002 it has had an agreement with the AEFE and is accredited by the French education ministry, and since 2006 it has been recognised by Saarland as an Ergänzungsschule. The Dilling branch, open since 1921, closed in 2022, and all pupils now attend in Saarbrücken. The school shares premises with the Lycée franco-allemand de Sarrebruck. Teaching follows French curricula, mainly in French: the kindergarten works almost entirely in French, and in primary school 22 of 30 weekly lessons are in French and 8 in German - 5 lessons of German language under the Saarland curriculum and 3 subjects taught in German (music, science, art, citizenship or PE). German is taught in groups by level, from German as a foreign language to native level; French-speaking newcomers get separate support. English is taught once a week in the upper grades. Pupils without French citizenship are offered the DELF Prim A2 exam in CM1, and pupils whose first language is not German the Goethe-Zertifikat Fit in Deutsch. The school prepares pupils to continue at the Lycée franco-allemand de Sarrebruck up to the Franco-German baccalauréat; most pupils are bilingual children of Franco-German families. In 2022-2023 there were 352 pupils in 14 classes.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $3 333 a year
2 950 EUR
Programmes
French programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French, German
Class size
four kindergarten groups of about 25 children each; German is taught in small groups by level
Registration fee
≈ $565
500 EUR
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027 (approved by the association's general meeting on 22 April 2026): primary school 2950 euros a year per child, 2930 euros each with two children, 2910 euros with three and 2890 euros each with four or more. Kindergarten morning place - the same 2950 euros (2815 euros school contribution and 135 euros parent contribution); full-day place 4269 euros for one child (down to 4209 euros with four children). Fees are paid in ten monthly instalments. About a third of the school budget is covered by the AEFE and the State of Saarland, two thirds by parents. French families can apply for an AEFE scholarship through the consulate in Frankfurt. Part of the fees is tax-deductible in Germany.
Admissions Children of any nationality are admitted from age three, subject to available places, in this order of priority: children of French citizens living with their parents in Germany; siblings of current pupils; siblings of pupils at the Lycée franco-allemand de Sarrebruck; children who attended AEFE network schools; French-speaking children of other nationalities living in Saarland; non-French-speaking children of other nationalities from Saarland; all others. The kindergarten (Petite Section) takes children who turn 3 by 31 December of the year of entry, and applications go through the city Kita-Planer Regionalverband Saarbrücken. For primary school, the online application must be submitted by 31 December before the school year and is processed January to March; late applications are accepted only from priority-one families. The head may invite the family and child for an interview. Decisions are sent between February and April; enrolment requires paying the first registration fee and an interest-free loan to the school. If refused for lack of places, families renew the application each year by 31 December.
Stages and year groups Grades PS-GS, CP-CM2 (1-5), 14 classes. Eight years: école maternelle (cycle 1, Petite, Moyenne and Grande Section, ages 3-6; 4 mixed-age groups with about 100 children) and école élémentaire (cycle 2 - CP, CE1, CE2; cycle 3 - CM1, CM2; 2 classes per year group, ages 6-11). The curricula are the official French ones; German follows the Saarland curriculum with Saarland school textbooks. There are no IB, Cambridge or Abitur qualifications; language certificates are DELF Prim A2 (for pupils without French citizenship, CM1) and Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Fit in Deutsch 1 (CM1-CM2). After CM2 children move to grade 6 at the Lycée franco-allemand de Sarrebruck (French-speaking or bicultural stream depending on their German), to a French collège or to another AEFE school.
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
Exam results The school reports 100% success for its candidates in the DELF Prim A2 exam, taken by CM1 pupils without French citizenship; no year is given. Pupils whose first language is not German are offered the Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Fit in Deutsch 1 in CM1-CM2.
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: Makerspace
Campus: The kindergarten and primary school occupy premises on the Lycée franco-allemand campus near central Saarbrücken, close to buses, a tram stop and Saarbrücken-Ost station. There is a library and documentation centre (BCD) with about 7000 books in French and German run by a librarian, a separate marmothèque for the kindergarten, and a FabLab with a 3D printer, scroll saw, vinyl cutter, sewing machine, milling and engraving machine and Micro:bit boards. All classrooms have interactive screens and computers, and there are 52 iPads and Thymio robots. PE and sports days take place in the Deckarmhalle hall and at the Kieselhumes stadium. Lunch: the kindergarten and grade 1 eat in the kindergarten multipurpose room, grades 2-5 in the police canteen next door. Lessons run 7:55 to 13:15; after-school care until 17:00 and a holiday day camp are available.
Clubs and activities: Chorale (choir) · FabLab · Robotics and coding · Rugby scolaire (school rugby)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers25
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: French primary teachers (professeurs des écoles) with Education nationale qualifications, seconded and local; German teachers
The teaching staff are French primary teachers, seconded by the AEFE or hired locally, with French Education nationale qualifications, and German teachers hired locally. For 2026-2027 the school names 4 kindergarten teachers with their assistants (ASEM), 10 primary class teachers, 2 supply teachers and the teachers of German, subjects taught in German and English. There is a librarian and a special needs coordinator with a university diploma in inclusive education. In 2022-2023 there were 25 teachers; about 50 adults work with the children, including after-school and administrative staff.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Teachers receive children in the morning: in the kindergarten inside the building from 7:45, in primary school in the yard under teacher supervision; the kindergarten door is locked from 8:05 to 13:00, children are handed to parents in person, and for safety the kindergarten after-school group leaves only through the small gate. A school community charter sets out the rights and duties of pupils and adults, with a simplified version for children. Children with special needs get individual plans (PAI, PPS, PAP, PPRE).
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 data80 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 data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data70 "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.
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