Enrolling your child at a state-funded preschool or elementary school

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You must begin your enrollment procedures at the ‘Mairie’ (town hall) or the ‘Maison des Habitants’ (citizens administration center) to obtain an enrollment certificate. Once this certificate obtained, you can finalize the enrollment with the school your child will attend. Preschools (‘école maternelle’) and elementary schools (‘école primaire’) educate pupils from the ages of 3 to 11.

Procedure

  1. Download the pre-enrollment file or pick one up from the Mairie for your place of residence (or the Maison des Habitants).
  2. Once you have filled it in, take it along with the required supporting documents to the Mairie (or the Maison des Habitants).
  3. Once your application has been processed, you will receive an enrollment certificate indicating the name of the school that your child will attend.
  4. Make an appointment with the school where your child has a place in order to finalize the enrollment.
  5. On the day of the appointment, take all the required documents with you, especially the enrollment certificate.

Documents

You will need a number of documents for this enrollment process, in particular:
  • Your child’s birth certificate
  • Family record book (‘livret de famille’)
  • Proof of address dated within the last 3 months
  • Health record (the page indicating the vaccinations which are compulsory for school must be translated into French)
  • The exit certificate (‘certificat de radiation’), if your child was previously enrolled with another establishment in France.
Documents written in a foreign language must be translated into French.

In Grenoble

Enrollment

You can pick up the pre-enrollment documents from a ‘Maison des Habitants’, or download it from the Grenoble city council website.
Once you have filled in your file, you will need to take it to the ‘Maison des Habitants’ for your neighborhood.
> See the list of the various ‘Maison des Habitants’ (go to the “Lieux associés” tab)
> Download the pre-enrollment file

Elementary schools with an international division (‘Section Internationale’ - SI)

Some elementary schools have an international division for the following languages: Arabic, English, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Don’t hesitate to contact the schools directly if you are interested.
> List of schools with international divisions

In Valence

> Visit the Valence city council website to find out more about the enrollment procedure.

The city also provides a practical guide called “Grandir à Valence” (growing up in Valence), which contains useful information about childcare options, health, education and leisure activities.
> Download the “Grandir à Valence” guide
Updated on  October 17, 2023