International School of Dublin vs Lycée Français d'Irlande
🇮🇪 Dublin · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither International School of Dublin nor Lycée Français d'Irlande sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Curriculum is the core differentiator: International School of Dublin offers IB while Lycée Français d'Irlande offers National — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system. Both are day schools with fees in the same market band — see the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| International School of Dublin | Lycée Français d'Irlande | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB | National |
| Ages | 3.5–12 | 3-18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | French, English |
| Annual fees | EUR 11,250 | Not published |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | International Baccalaureate | AEFE (conventionné), French Ministry of Education homologation |
Strengths
- ✓Accredited IB World Primary School — Ireland's first, per the school's own site
- ✓Central Dublin 8 location on Synge Street, convenient for city-based families
- ✓Co-educational, non-denominational and open year-round to all nationalities and faiths
- ✓Dedicated English-as-an-Additional-Language (EAL) support for new-arrival and multilingual pupils
- ✓Sibling tuition discounts (10% for 1st/2nd siblings, 20% for 3rd and beyond)
- ✓Fully homologué by the French Ministry of Education and conventionné with the AEFE — the only AEFE-network school in Ireland.
- ✓Unbroken continuity from petite section (preschool) to terminale and the French baccalauréat.
- ✓Genuinely bilingual French/English project with reinforced English; secondary students can sit Cambridge English certification.
- ✓Long-established: operating since 1967.
Trade-offs
- !Primary only (to age 12) — no secondary or sixth-form provision, so families must transition elsewhere afterwards
- !No boarding provision
- !Enrollment numbers and detailed staffing are not published on the school's site
- !Language-of-instruction detail beyond English/EAL is not published
- !Tuition fees and enrollment figures are not published on the reviewed sources, reducing cost transparency.
- !Split across two campuses (Foxrock for preschool/primary, Clonskeagh for secondary), which some families find less convenient.
- !Core academic pathway is the French national curriculum; families seeking IB or a British/American track are not served here.
Best Fit For
- • Internationally mobile families needing a recognised IB primary programme in central Dublin
- • Multilingual children who benefit from structured EAL support
- • Families wanting a small, non-denominational, inquiry-based primary setting
- • French-speaking families in Ireland wanting continuity with the French national system and baccalauréat.
- • Bilingual families seeking a French/English education with strong English provision.
- • Families who may relocate within the AEFE network internationally.
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School leaver / onward-placement destinations are not published by the school (school-reported data not available).
School-reported, unverified: specific university destinations and baccalauréat results are not published on the reviewed sources.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose International School of Dublin or Lycée Français d'Irlande?
International School of Dublin is best for: Internationally mobile families needing a recognised IB primary programme in central Dublin. Lycée Français d'Irlande is best for: French-speaking families in Ireland wanting continuity with the French national system and baccalauréat.. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between International School of Dublin and Lycée Français d'Irlande?
International School of Dublin: EUR 11,250. Lycée Français d'Irlande: Not published. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do International School of Dublin and Lycée Français d'Irlande offer?
International School of Dublin: IB. Lycée Français d'Irlande: National.
Do International School of Dublin or Lycée Français d'Irlande offer boarding?
International School of Dublin: day school only. Lycée Français d'Irlande: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →