The Vilnius International French Lyceum (LIFV) has moved to Vilnius Old Town, in new premises located on Subačius street. For some classes, studying will resume at this new site in March, when health restrictions allow it.
Thanks to new pedagogical adaptation programs, non-French speaking children will also be able to attend the school, without any requirement of level in French.
“The French School of Vilnius was founded in 1992, we are the first and the biggest international school in Lithuania. Since the beginning, our school has been growing steadily. We have been looking for new premises since 2014, when our building located on Silo str. became too small to accommodate all of our students. From now on, our elementary, middle and high school students will be able to study in spacious premises, well-located and adapted to educational requirements, ”says Florence Llopis, the headmaster of LIFV.
According to F. Llopis, more and more non-French speaking families are interested in the French education system: “Currently, approximately 80% of our pupils are Lithuanian. In response to requests from families, we have developed a new system of adaptation classes for non-French speaking students. Our experience shows that even if a child starts learning French later, at the age of 15 for example, they are able to adapt and pass the Baccalaureate exam successfully. “
The lyceum is located in a complex of buildings at the address Subačiaus str.7-11, belonging to the Orthodox Church, located near the defensive wall of Vilnius, where the professional services company “EY” was previously settled until 2020. The LIFV has nearly 5,000 square meters of premises, where there will be modern classrooms, a science laboratory, a knowledge and culture center (library), a multipurpose hall for events, a canteen area, various spaces for group work and for students’ leisure activities. In the next stage, it is planned to build a gymnasium, which will be made available to various sports associations.
Furthermore, the LIFV has three large courtyards. “We are eager to open these magnificent courtyards, typical of Vilnius Old Town, to the public. After the restrictions of Covid-19, we hope to invite the people of Vilnius to visit them and we plan to make them available for the organization of events featuring French culture. We want to make the LIFV open to the community of Vilnius”, says F. Llopis.
The Vilnius International French Lyceum is the only international school in the capital of Lithuania where the curriculum is organized in French.
The LIFV is the only international school in the capital which language of teaching is French and in accordance with the French national education program, with a special focus on foreign language teaching. Lithuanian students learn their mother tongue according to the programs approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Lithuania. The LIFV is part of one of the largest international school networks, the AEFE. Graduates take the French high school graduation exams and obtain a French Baccalauréat diploma. Over 530 students between the ages of 2 and 18 are currently enrolled at the French Lyceum. The institution has two locations as pre-primary school (kindergarten) and first-graders remain located on Antakalnis, Šilo str. 13.