← Back to homeÉcole française internationale de Marbella
Marbella, Spain · Private
Illustration · Marbella
École française internationale de Marbella, efim for short, is a private French school in the centre of Marbella, on Jacinto Benavente street opposite the de los Enamorados park. It teaches the programme of the French Ministry of Education and is an AEFE partner school; the ministry has accredited all its classes from Petite Section to CM2, that is the nursery and the primary school. The school takes children from two years old into the youngest nursery group and teaches them to the end of primary school, while the collège classes from 6e to 3e follow the regulated CNED programme. It calls itself trilingual: French is the main language, about half of the teaching time is tied to languages, a quarter is English and Spanish lessons and another quarter is French-programme subjects (mathematics, discovering the world, sport) taught together with a native English or Spanish teacher; the history and geography of France and Spain are taught in the language of the country concerned. The school describes its teaching as a blend of the Montessori, Freinet, Feuerstein and Gattegno methods, with two teachers per class, mixed-age groups, no marks and well-being exercises for the children. Lessons run Monday to Thursday from 9 to 16 o'clock in the nursery and to 16:15 in primary, and on Friday from 9 to 12; early care from 8 in the morning and after-school clubs until 17:30. At the end of cycle 3 the school can organise the DELF, DELE and Cambridge exams. In summer the school runs a summer school with French immersion.
Key facts
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French, English, Spanish
About the fees The school does not publish its fees: rates are given on request through a form on the website, where one can also ask separately about transport, clubs and financial aid.
Admissions Enrolment is online through the Skolengo platform, from the opening of the campaign until the classes are full; after that applications go on a waiting list. The file is reviewed by the admissions committee, and at its request or the parents' wish a family interview is held. The decision comes by email; if positive, the family is offered a place, and enrolment is confirmed by paying the first-enrolment fee, which is not refunded on withdrawal. Children are admitted to classes from Très Petite Section (2-3 years) to 3ème through CNED (14-15 years). The school names no requirements on citizenship, language or documents for foreigners on its admissions pages.
Stages and year groups Grades Très Petite Section (2 years) - 3ème (15 years). Nursery (maternelle): TPS 2-3 years, PS 3-4, MS 4-5, GS 5-6. Primary (élémentaire): CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2, from 6 to 11 years. The French Ministry of Education has accredited the classes from PS to CM2. The collège classes 6ème, 5ème, 4ème and 3ème, from 11 to 15 years, follow the regulated CNED programme. The school teaches in mixed-age groups, in small numbers and with two teachers per class; it does not give class sizes.
Address Calle Jacinto Benavente s/n, 29601 Marbella (Málaga)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
AEFE · accreditationschool 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 →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 hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: A building on Jacinto Benavente street in the western part of Marbella, opposite the de los Enamorados park, near the congress centre; the windows look onto the park and La Concha mountain. The classrooms are bright and spacious, with flexible layouts and themed corners. There is a multi-sport hall, two outdoor yards, an Archéo-Lab for teaching archaeological digs, a vegetable garden, a library and media centre and an infirmary. Lunch is cooked by a caterer every day, organic where possible. A school bus is mentioned on the home page. The beach is a few minutes' walk away and the school uses it for lessons.
Clubs and activities: Robotics · School garden · Eco-citizenship · Food culture · Architecture through the ages · Archaeology · Art through the ages · Prehistory
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp; whether it takes children from outside is not stated on the website
In summer the school runs a summer school with French immersion and sessions in English and Spanish: science, new technologies, creative work, music, dance, sport, literature and cinema, language lessons. It is led by the school's native-speaker teachers; places are limited. There is no residential camp.
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 sizenot stated
The school does not give the number of teachers. In its words, all teachers specialise in the Montessori, Freinet, Gattegno or Feuerstein methods, languages are taught by native speakers of French, Spanish and English, two teachers work in each class, and co-taught subjects are led by English- and Spanish-speaking teachers together with the French teacher.
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 policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has an infirmary run by the teaching team: a child is brought there when unwell or injured, the children's medical information is kept there under confidentiality rules, and it runs a health education programme (hygiene, nutrition, sleep, household dangers, calling emergency services). The school names no security guard, video surveillance, access control, written child protection policy or recruitment checks.
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%)60 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 data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median67 "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.
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