Entry requirements at Houille Blanche

Please also consult the official school website, even if it might not be updated.

Entry requirements for the French sections

The requirements are the same for all students from Grenoble – they should be enrolled in the local school for their place of residence. Exceptions may be granted under certain conditions by the Mayor of Grenoble, if places are available. Requests for enrolment should be made at the Town Hall (or the local Town Hall office: Maison des Habitants/Antenne Mairie, 68 bis rue Anatole France) where a certificate of registration will be issued. This certificate, together with the “livret de famille” (family record) and medical record, must be presented to the Head of School for enrolment of the child. Where appropriate these documents should be accompanied by a “termination of enrolment” certificate issued by the previous school.

Entry Requirements for the international sections

Enrolment is subject to the applicable laws.

  1. For entry into the CP (1st year) in September 2017, applicants must file an application form before March 31st, 2017. Forms are available in Grenoble nursery schools (écoles maternelles) from March 2017, or at the bottom of this page.
    Applicants will undergo an oral test designed to assess the level of the foreign language under consideration in the case of students with French nationality, the mother tongue and French in the case of foreign students.
    Families will receive an invitation for the test which will be held May 24th, 2017. The results will be sent to the families at the end June 2017.
    The families of successful applicants should then register their child at the Town Hall (or the local Town Hall office: Maison des Habitants/Antenne Mairie, 68 bis rue Anatole France) and then report to the Head of School for final admission upon presentation of the required documents (certificate of Registration, family record or “livret de famille”, health record).
  2. To be admitted to higher grades (CE1 [2nd year], CE2 [3rd year], CM1 [4th year] and CM2 [5th year]) applicants must also submit an application and undergo an oral test designed to assess their knowledge of the appropriate foreign language in the case of French nationality students, the language and French in the case of foreign students.Only a limited number of places is available for these classes.
    Testing: This is an assessment of oral language skills lasting about 20 minutes, carried out by the teachers of the language concerned.
  3. A second session will be held early September, 2017, open only to applicants arriving in France during the summer. For this second session, applications can be sent to school until August 26, 2017.

You can download an application form for the international sections, print it and return it preferably by email to ce.0382911h@ac-grenoble.fr and send the remaining documents by post to the school:
École élémentaire Houille Blanche
7, rue de la Houille Blanche
38100 GRENOBLE
FRANCE

Download the application form:  Form_candidature_HB_2017.pdf
Download the certificate of nationality: attest_nation.doc
Download the school assessment sheet: school_assessment_sheet.doc

Transition between the French section and the international section

Children in the French section who are particularly interested in languages can take the test to enter the international section. They must file the same application for admission as external candidates at the same dates. In general, the language teacher of your child will contact you to discuss this. Feel free to come and talk about this!