High School Abroad in France: Compare Programs

Attend high school in France for a trimester, semester, or academic year. Nacel offers a choice of host family placements, French boarding schools, and English-speaking high school in the Paris area.

Compare our High School Abroad programs in France and find the option that best matches your age, French level, academic goals, and preferred accommodation.

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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 with a Host Family

Live in France. Not as a tourist, but as a local.
Move in with a host family, enroll in a French high school, and spend a trimester, semester, or full year immersed in everyday French life. Your French will improve because you're living it, not studying it from a textbook.

Ages : 13 to 17
Cultural Exchange in France
Soft landing camp for September intakes
50 years of Experience
Comprehensive Insurance

From : 5,270 EUR

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High School Abroad France - High School Exchange in Paris - your best high school exchange in France

English-Speaking High School Exchange in Paris

An English-speaking high school exchange in the Greater Paris Area : perfect for students who aren't yet fluent in French but want to experience school life in France, live with a host family, and explore Paris.
Live with a French host family or at our international boarding house. Go to an English-speaking High School program in the Paris area. You will have opportunities to discover Paris from the inside.

Ages : 15 to 18
No French required
Homestay or Boarding options
Real Paris access
A stepping stone into French life

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High School Abroad France - Permanent boarding school in France - in the park in front of the school

High School Boarding Program - Full-Time Boarding School in France

Prefer a full boarding school experience over living with a host family? Our 7-day boarding schools in Espalion and Masseube welcome you full-time; no host family required.
Live alongside French and international classmates all week long, with weekends packed with excursions and cultural activities, and total freedom to fly home or make your own plans during school breaks.

Ages : 15 to 17
Weekends are part of the program
Freedom during school breaks
A true international community
No host family required

From : 12,455 EUR

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High School Abroad France - student exchange in France - Join our Boarding School Exchange program in Loire Valley

High School Boarding Program - Loire Valley

Travel to this highly touristic French region and immerse yourself in the hearth of the country. Become an exchange student in France in the Loire Valley!
Attend a French private boarding school in the Loire Valley and live with a local host family during your weekends and holidays.

Ages : 14 or 15 to 17
Language : French
Length : Trimester, Semester, Academic year

From : 5,970 EUR

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High School Abroad France - South of France boarding school - make some tourism in the South

High School Boarding Program - South of France

Travel to the South of France to experience an exchange program in boarding schools in the South of France.
You live at the school dorm during the week and are welcomed by a French homestay on weekends and during school breaks. You improve your French and make international friends while immersing yourself into the French culture and language.

Ages : 14 to 18
Language : French
Length : Trimestre, Semester, Academic year

From : 5,870 EUR

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High School Abroad France - Boarding schools in the southwest of France - Pyrenées mountains

High School Boarding Program - Southwest of France

Discover the southwest of France and study in a French boarding school in Occitanie! We welcome international students in St Gaudens, Tarbes, and Auch. Enjoy a wonderful region close to the Pyrennées mountains.

Ages : 15 to 17
Language : French
Length : Semester, Academic Year

From : 5,815 EUR

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High School Abroad France - Select High School exchange France - Auch area

High School France Select - Choose your city

Choose your French city, live your French dream! Study abroad, perfect your French accent, and experience daily life like a local. With Nacel, you’ll live with a welcoming French host family and attend a local high school - now in the city of your choice!Explore French life, your way. Choose your city, your experience, your future in France with Nacel!

Ages : 15 to 17
Choose your city, guaranteed proximity
Wide range of destinations
Flexible timing
Open to all citizenships

From : 5,690 EUR

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High School Abroad France - International boarding school in Paris - main building

School Year Abroad in an International School in Paris

Looking for an international school in France that lets you earn a US High School diploma or US High School credits while immersing yourself in French language and culture? Notre-Dame International High School (NDIHS), located just outside Paris, offers exactly that: a fully accredited American curriculum taught in English, paired with daily French lessons and life on a vibrant French campus.
Whether you join for 10th or 11th grade to earn US High School credits, or arrive in 12th grade to graduate with a US High School diploma, NDIHS gives you the structure of an American education with the cultural depth of studying abroad in France.

Ages : 15 to 18
Earn a real US High School diploma
Flexible boarding options
Bilingual by design
Prime location near Paris

From : 19,390 EUR

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Compare our High School Abroad programs in France

A High School Abroad program in France allows an international student to attend a French- or English-speaking secondary school while living with a host family or in a boarding school for a short stay, trimester, semester or academic year.

Explore the main differences between our programs, including the teaching language, accommodation, location and duration.

Program type	Teaching language	Accommodation	Location	Duration	Best for
Classic cultural program	French	Volunteer host family	Across France	Trimester, semester or academic year	Maximum cultural and language immersion
Selected city placement	French	Host family	Selected French cities	Trimester, semester or academic year	Students who want to choose their location
Weekly boarding school (Loire Valley, South of France, Southwest of France)	French	Boarding school during the week and host family on weekends	Various regions of France	Trimester, semester or academic year	A balance of boarding school and French family life
Full-time boarding school	French	Seven-day boarding	Selected campuses in France	Academic year	A structured, fully residential experience
English-speaking exchange	English, with French lessons	Boarding house or host family	Greater Paris Area	Semester or academic year	Students who want to study academic subjects in English while learning French as a foreign language
International school near Paris	English, with French lessons	Boarding house or host family	Greater Paris Area	Semester or academic year	Students following an American curriculum or still learning French
Short-term school immersion	French	Host family	Across France	2 to 10 weeks	A first high school experience abroad

Find the right High School program in France

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,
live with a host family, at a boarding school, or experience both
study in an urban or more rural area, upon preference
study in English, in French or in both languages
come for a few weeks, a trimester, a semester, a school year, or even several years!

Choose a host family program for maximum cultural immersion, a boarding school for a structured residential experience, or an English-speaking school if you need to continue an American curriculum or are still learning French. Live your French cultural immersion in France with Nacel.

School year abroad in France : Free Parent and Student Consultation

What to expect when attending High School 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.

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.

Why choose Nacel for High School Abroad in France?

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

Learn more about the Nacel program support and safety protocols:

Our French coordinators welcome international students from over 20 different countries every year and thus gain 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 is 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.

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: Ressources

Nacel offers several formats: a classic host family exchange with a local French high school, a select-city placement where you choose your location, weekly boarding schools (school during the week, host family on weekends), full-time seven-day boarding schools, and an English-speaking international school near Paris for students following an American curriculum. Programs range from a few weeks to a full academic year, so the right fit depends on your French level, budget, and how much immersion you want.

Not necessarily. Most programs (host family, boarding school, select-city) are taught in French and are best suited to students who've had at least two years of French study. If your French is limited or you want to continue an American curriculum, the English-speaking international school in the Paris area teaches primarily in English with French language lessons included.

Placement is based on the student's academic record and French level, arranged through Nacel's relationships with French school principals, though no specific grade is guaranteed. Students who complete at least two years of high school in France can earn a French high school graduation, and 11th and 12th graders typically choose 2–3 advanced subjects as part of the French curriculum.

Nacel screens and vets all host families through an interview and home visit, places students in accredited French high schools, and assists with the French student visa process. Students get a 3-day orientation on arrival, a 24/7 support hotline, and ongoing in-country support including monthly reports and a term visit, with English-speaking support available to parents throughout.