Learn more about High School Abroad in France! Experience a year-long school programs in France  – 13-17 years old– 2 weeks to 1 academic year.

Experience the French art de vivre! Book your student exchange in France and embrace a new lifestyle: C'est la vie! Immerse yourself into the French culture by attending school in France with Nacel. We offer high school exchange programs in France for a term, semester, or school year. Improve your French language skills by living with a French host family or attending a French Boarding school. Live a real and unique French Cultural Exchange. 

Your French is not strong enough to study in French? Join our school year abroad at Notre-Dame International High School, our English-speaking exchange program in France. 

Discover our French High School Study Abroad in France.

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High School Abroad France - student exchange in France - Join a our High School in France with Volunteer host family

Classic High School Exchange in France

Study abroad and improve your French accent! A French host family and a French high school are waiting for you! Look for your

  • From 13 to 17 years old

  • Cultural Exchange in France

  • Soft landing camp for September intakes

  • 50 years of Experience

  • Comprehensive Insurance

Fees from : 6 140 EUR

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A Legacy of Confidence and Success in Cultural Exchange

With decades of experience, certified quality, global partnerships, dedicated support, and a commitment to safety, Nacel ensures every student embarks on a transformative journey with confidence and trust.

Which is the best high school exchange program in France for me?

Your foreign exchange program in France starts here! Our exchange students in France attend :

  • a public or private high school,
  • a day or a boarding school in France.

You may even attend an English-speaking school year abroad in France. 

Option 1: Exchange program in a semi-private Boarding school in France
Our Boarding schools in France are located in the finest and most historical cities of the country. We may place our exchange students in 5-day boarding schools all over the country, depending on the availability of space in schools and host families. You live at the Boarding House of your school with your French classmates during the week and with a French host family on weekends. You can do extracurricular activities at school or in a local club. 

Study abroad in Paris! If you would like to live a Parisian experience, choose to study in one of the best English-speaking international schools located in the West of Paris. You study at Notre-Dame International High School and attend an English-speaking American High School while you boost your French skills thanks to our dedicated French language classes. You earn American High School credits and transfer them back to your school. You boost your applications to Colleges and Universities. Last but not least, you explore Paris on weekends! Extracurricular activities include a Model UN club! 

We also offer native English and Spanish-speaking exchange students the unique opportunity to live with a welcoming French volunteer host family and attend a public or private French local high school. The cheapest exchange program in France and a good quality cultural immersion in France! Meet a new family and attend a school in France like a French teen!

​Consult us so that we can help you make the best choice for your school year abroad in France. Live your French cultural immersion in France with Nacel. 

How does it look like to go to school as an exchange student in France?

Based on each applicant’s academic performance and language level, the French local high school will determine the grade placement of the exchange student. While no grade equivalence is guaranteed by Nacel, we do our very best to arrange your placement in the school grade you need thanks to our constant relationships with French school principals.

The subjects that will be offered depend on the grade level. Core subjects during your school year abroad in France are:

  • Mathematics,
  • French,
  • First foreign language (generally English),
  • Second foreign language (Spanish or German),
  • Physics,
  • Biology,
  • History,
  • Geography,
  • Arts
  • and Physical education.

Students choose 3 advanced subjects in 11th grade and 2 in 12th Grade. Contact us to receive our dedicated handbook about the French school system at the High School level. 

French students go to school from Monday to Friday (sometimes Saturday morning), usually from 8 am to 5 or 6 pm. A few clubs and extracurricular sports or cultural activities may be offered in schools. Most French teens practice a sport or a cultural activity outside of campus, in local clubs and facilities. 

French High School Study Abroad: Student Support and Safety

Nacel has more than 65 years of experience in offering study abroad programs in France.

Learn more about the Nacel program support and safety measures: 

  • Our French coordinators welcome international students from over 20 different countries every year and thus earn strong intercultural experience. 
  • Our warm and welcoming host families are carefully selected through an interview and a home visit. They are screened and vetted by our Nacel France staff.
  • Nacel places exchange students in fully accredited French high schools offering a safe and engaging study environment.
  • Nacel supports you at each step of the French student visa application process.
  • Nacel France welcomes all exchange students for a 3-day comprehensive orientation before they move to their French host families. 
  • Exchange students and their parents have access to a 24/7 hotline and our support team.
  • In-country Support team: Nacel France keeps in regular touch with exchange students, host families, and schools. This includes monthly reports and a term visit. 
  • Nacel Educational Travel provides English-speaking support to parents during the whole experience of their child in France. 

French Language Support: Boost your French language skills before you start your high school exchange in France: book an intensive French course in Paris in August!

What are the benefits of a High School Abroad in France?

From our experience, the benefits are not only educational and cultural: French language immersion, exposure to a different way of life, and cultural enrichment. A French exchange program in a transformative experience of cultural immersion. 

The benefits for a student are also personal: our exchange students:

  • become more independent and autonomous,
  • boost their intercultural and adaptability skills,
  • build lifelong friendships with a French host family and French friends,
  • gain a global and broadened perspective on current world affairs,
  • and grow as a person! 

Read some stories of the past participants of the High School Abroad in France!

Program Highlights

  • International students go to school just like any other French student, enabling a full immersion into the French culture from the very first day.
  • Unlike other exchange programs, with Nacel, a high school graduation is possible as long as the student completes at least 2 years of studies at a high school in France.
  • Additional language courses are also offered to reinforce your student’s language skills before the school year abroad in France begins.
  • Short-term High School Integration programs available for 6 and 10 weeks. Placements are arranged all over France.
  • You do not speak French or your French level is still too low? Apply for an exchange program in an English-speaking school in Paris.

Spending a school year in France is not just about taking a gap year in France: it is a real cultural, academic, and life-changing experience that will open you to a bright future. 

Contact us to get a detailed information about:

  • School year abroad in France
  • French school system
  • French Baccalaureate and high school graduation in France
  • Boarding school in France
  • Study abroad French programs over the summer or during the school year
  • Gap year in France
  • School trips in France and Discovery Tours
  • Advice for high school exchange students
  • Advice to attend school in France

Thanks to a wide range of study abroad programs in France, we will find the most suitable High School Abroad program in France for YOU.

French School System: Key Facts

Choose the High School Abroad in France that suits you best! There are various types of Middle and High Schools in France: 

  • Public schools: those schools follow the French State's curriculum guidelines. Teachers are paid by the State. No tuition fees. 
  • Subsidized semi-private schools: while they are run by a private administration, these schools also follow the French State's curriculum guidelines. Teachers are also paid by the State. 
  • Boarding schools from Monday to Friday (public or semi-private): these schools mainly welcome day schoolers but also have a Boarding House for students who cannot commute to school every day. All students return home for weekends and school breaks. This is the most common type of boarding school in France. 
  • Full-time boarding schools (semi-private): while those schools also welcome day schoolers, they offer a Boarding House opened full time but usually closed for school breaks. 

School schedule:

Classes begin between 8 and 9 am and end around 5 pm with a break of 1-2 hours for lunch. 
School starts in early September and ends in June of July, depending on grades and school organization. 

The French school calendar is pretty generous: you get a 2-week school break every 6 weeks approximately: 

  • Fall holidays: usually from mid-October for 2 weeks
  • Christmas holidays: usually from 3rd week of December for 2 weeks
  • Winter holidays: usually from mid-February or early March: dates differ from region to region
  • Spring holidays: usually from mid-April or late April for 2 weeks, 12 to 26: dates differ from region to region

High School Year Abroad in France: Resources