← Back to the rankingLycée français Victor Hugo
Sofia, Bulgaria · est. 1966 · Private
Illustration · Sofia
The Lycee francais Victor Hugo is a French school in Sofia from nursery to the final year, part of the network of French schools abroad. It was founded in 1966 and now has 827 students. It operates under an agreement (convention) with the French agency AEFE and follows the programmes of the French Ministry of Education, which has accredited it (homologation); the head is appointed by France, and locally the school is under the French Embassy. It is run by a parents' association: a board of volunteer parents sets the budget and fees, and all income goes to the school. Teaching is in French from age 2-3; Bulgarian is part of the compulsory timetable for all, English is taught from nursery, and German or Spanish is added in 5e. Children without French are admitted to nursery with language support. About 70% of families are Bulgarian, 25% French and 5% from other countries. Older students prepare for the French baccalaureat general; many graduates go on to English-speaking universities.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $7 378–9 075 a year
6 530.67–8 032.81 EUR
Programmes
French programme
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French
Languages taught
English, Bulgarian, German, Spanish
About the fees Annual fees for 2026-2027 for the first (eldest) child, paid in three instalments (1 September, 1 January, 1 April): primary 6530.67 euro, nursery 6822.12 euro, college 7351.15 euro, lycee 8032.81 euro, Toute Petite Section 7965.52 euro. Second child 9% off, third 15%, fourth 25% (except Toute Petite Section). If a company pays, fees are 5% higher (companies under 50 staff) or 10% higher (50 staff or more): up to 8836.09 euro in lycee. Payment by bank transfer in euro only.
Admissions Admission is subject to available places and by year of birth. Priority: French nationals first, then children of any nationality with at least one year in the French system, then children of any nationality from other schools (non-accredited French private, francophone, Bulgarian and other). For Petite and Moyenne Section there is a meeting with parents; from Grande Section, and for primary, college and lycee pupils not from accredited French schools, there is a file review, entrance tests (March to May) and an interview. Online pre-registration in Skolengo and the full file are due by 12 March for 2026-2027, later by arrangement with the school. Enrolment is final once the first registration fee is paid. Parents do not need to speak French.
Stages and year groups Grades TPS, PS, MS, GS, CP-CM2, 6e-3e, 2nde-Terminale. The French curriculum at all levels, accredited by the French Ministry of Education: nursery (Toute Petite Section from age 2, then Petite, Moyenne and Grande Section), primary (CP-CM2, ages 6-10), college (6e-3e, ages 11-14) with the diplome national du brevet, lycee (2nde, 1re, Terminale) preparing for the baccalaureat general with specialist subjects. Bulgarian is taught to all in compulsory hours, English from nursery, and German, English or Spanish as a second language from 5e. The school names no separate Bulgarian programme, IB or other qualifications.
Address 110 Simeonovsko shose, 1700 Sofia
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
AEFE · accreditationThe Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) lists the school in its register as a partner school under agreement (conventionné). It follows the French curriculum from kindergarten to the baccalauréat.
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 a 100% baccalaureat pass rate, with almost 95% of passes with honours (mention); the year is not stated.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school is on Simeonovsko shose in Sofia. It has science, physics and IT rooms, a knowledge and culture centre (the former CDI) with a library and digital resources, and a school canteen: Furisto serves about 450 students a day, always with a vegetarian dish. A medical centre with a doctor, a nurse and two psychologists. After-school care for primary pupils, a Rolita school bus from Petite Section, and a web radio.
Clubs and activities: Fencing · Judo · Advanced chess · Drama games · Volleyball · Basketball · Badminton · Padel · Tennis · Field hockey · Yoga · Hip-hop dance · Swimming · French cuisine · French film club
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
Most teachers are French (19 of 23 in primary), joined by Bulgarian teachers selected on strict criteria. All teachers take AEFE professional development, French inspectors visit on site, and the primary head runs internal training. In nursery, teachers are helped by assistants, and supervisors look after school life.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The medical service: a school doctor, a nurse and two psychologists (one for nursery and primary, one for college and lycee); annual check-ups in CP and 6e, health and prevention sessions. Supervisors (surveillants) are responsible for security at the school.
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 data75 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 "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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