France – The Don Bosco school network will open a French international high school in Canada

(ANS – Paris) – The French International High School of the Atlantic Provinces (LIFPA) “Don Bosco” will open at the beginning of the 2024 school year in Saint-John, New Brunswick, Canada. The institute’s website has been up and running for a few days. Recruitment for more teachers and talented students has already started.

The province of New Brunswick is officially a bilingual Canadian province (French and English). Located on the Atlantic Ocean, it is known for its natural beauty, the warmest saltwater beaches in the country, the magnificent St. John River known as the “Rhine of North America” ​​or the world’s strongest Tide of Fundy. . Among the principal cities of the province is Saint John, where a third of the inhabitants speak French. It is there that, in September 2024, the new school of the “Don Bosco” school network of vendors of France and Southern Belgium (FRB) will open.

The French government, through the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), wants to open a French international high school there. Local authorities and the business community, in particular, are strongly supportive. This topic was discussed with all the directors of the Salesian school network during a seminar held last fall. The project matured and the decision was finally made: the “Don Bosco” French International Lyceum of the Atlantic Provinces of Saint-John would be created.

The announcement was made in the presence of Sylvain Olivier, director of the “Don Bosco” company in Nice, responsible for the project on this side of the Atlantic, the Prime Minister of the Province of New Brunswick and the Prime Minister of the Embassy of France.

As LIFPA is a French institution, preparing for the French Baccalaureate, students will take the same courses as in France, but with a higher proportion in English in a bilingual environment (French and Anglophone). In other words, a student who decides to stay at LIFPA will not lose anything from his French schooling – in fact, if anything, he will gain it. Students from France are hosted by an English-speaking family and the stay lasts 3, 6 or 11 months, with courses 70% in French and 30% in English.

In order to help young people and parents organize their stay, an association called “Don Bosco Mobilites Internationales” (DBMI) was created at the beginning of the year under the leadership of the Province of the Salesians of France and Southern Belgium (FRB). Daniel Federspiel, which aims to inspire, support and organize the movement of students, staff and volunteers of French schools, especially towards LIFPA.

Information meetings will also be planned in the schools of the Salesian School Network in the coming months. Recruitment for teachers has already started.

For more information, please visit DBMI website And it is LIFPA extension.

Source: Don Bosco Ajortuhui