Véronique Ferreira, co-founder and headteacher of L’école bilingue in London
Véronique came to London in 2001 as a schoolteacher with a passion for language teaching. She was quickly encouraged by her pupils’ parents and the local French inspection board to start her own school, which became the first school in London to teach half the time in French, and half the time in English.
L’école bilingue is a primary school accredited by the French Ministry for Education and a partner school of AEFE (Agency for French Education Abroad) since 2006. It has consistently been rated Outstanding by the English inspection board (Ofsted). At the end of primary school, L’école bilingue’s students continue their education in the French system or join the English system, thereby confirming their bilingualism and adaptability.
Franck Laurans, co-founder of L’école bilingue in London
After studying engineering in France and in the UK, Franck obtained a Master’s degree in Business and became Customer Relationship Manager for a company specialising in business intelligence. He now runs the financial and administrative aspects of L’école bilingue, and successful moved the school to bigger premises in London in 2006. Over the past 15 years, he has gained valuable experience in the financial and administrative management of a school, and has nurtured relations with parents and local authorities.
Given their personal links with Portugal, Franck and Véronique settled upon Lisbon as their natural next step for the expansion of their educational aims.
Dr Laurent Batut
Laurent started his career in a secondary school as an English teacher. He then joined the University of Strasbourg where he became assistant professor after having completed his PhD. Over the past 25 years of his career, Laurent has acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the French education system and the international education market. He has a clear understanding of the most recent evolutions in education, in part thanks to having served as the Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy to the UK.
Laurent now works at Turenne Consulting, which has provided its support and expertise to l’École Trilingue throughout its creation process. As an associate consultant at Turenne, Laurent helps schools throughout Europe, working on assignments involving curriculum design and strategic planning.
Turenne Consulting
Turenne Consulting is a consulting and advisory firm specialising in helping schools and higher education institutions with their creation, development and relocation projects.
Founded in 2009 to help the French Embassy in the United Kingdom, it has contributed to the creation of a dozen schools and university campuses in Europe, including Collège Français Bilingue de Londres (CFBL) and Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill.
Aurélie Freymont, founding teacher
Aurélie was born and raised in France. She is an early childhood teacher, trained in Belgium with a specialisation in the early years. She has many years of experience in schools in France and England. She lived in London for ten years and worked in “L’école bilingue” as a nursery teacher for three years. She also has qualifications and experience in teaching yoga for children and in Montessori schools.
She believes in an active learning, based on the natural curiosity and interests of the children to provide meaningful learning experiences. She values the importance of giving responsibilities to pupils in a safe environment to develop their self-confidence. For her, education should come from the interaction between happy children, learning together and from each other. She also believes in the importance of an education based on the awareness and respect of the environment.