Cousteau School, The French International School of Vancouver

Three of our children did attend Cousteau before entering the Canadian public school at grade 9. They all did very well.Our fourth child is still at Cousteau and will soon integrate the Canadian public system as well. We are confident that he will excel with the strong academic education he has received at Cousteau.Thank you Cousteau staff for the great work you are doing.

We have put our daughter in this school since pre-K (maternelle grande section) and will put our son from next year. Hands down the best school in the Vancouver area for so many reasons: French and English education following French and British Columbia curriculums, eco-school label teaching environment values to kids, small classes, amazing teachers and staff, and above all kids are happy and growing with great values and great attitudes. Could not recommend enough.

I went to cousteau for grades 1, 2, and 3. I had excellent teacher and an amazing introduction to french. Tuition was a bit expensive, but the facilities, staff and students were all very nice. Would recommend to a french family looking for a french school for their students.

Initially, my wife and I were looking for a child care solution that would allow us to continue to work 9-5. Our child had also outgrown their existing day care - the children were well taken care of but our child was ready for a more stimulating experience. Our future vision for our child's education also involved French Immersion. It was through random word-of-mouth that Cousteau was recommended to us. We haven't looked back.The small class sizes. The celebration and embrace of French culture. The 8 a.m. child care. The report cards. The after school clubs that introduced our child to ballet, soccer, music, math, stories from around the world and cooking (at 3 years old!). The daily surprise of discovering our child has learned something new (yes dear that is the Canadian flag!). We began our Cousteau journey believing we would leave after pre-school. The superior educational experience (especially when compared to what we learned about other French Immersion options on the North Shore) and the on-going development we see in our child has convinced us to stay long-term.I have clear memories of being terrified of school during my first day of Kindergarten. Our child has no such fears, puts on her backpack and is proud to go to school every day. She is so far beyond my development at the same age it's incredible.I encourage anyone considering Cousteau to go to an open house, or register for their summer camps to give the school a try. It's worth it.

Love this school, and am so happy we found it. My child is in their second year of the pre-school, and is thriving. We've had an exceptionally kind, creative, and wonderful teacher, and the kids are always doing really cool art, science, and learning projects. The after school activities (Petites Chef, Zumba, Karate, and more) and daycare is great for working parents. My daughter entered Cousteau with zero French (we only speak English at home), and after close to two years, she understands everything, can speak and respond to her teacher in French, and has learned so much! We've also found a great community of friends within the school.

Our two daughters attended this school for 12 years. Overall, they made many great friends, and were taught by dedicated and wonderful teachers. They graduated fully bilingual, and if the school offered grades 10-12, they would have stayed for these grades as well. This is an outstanding program and school!

I recently recommended this school to a mom because we really believe in the school and what it has to offer, and she mentioned this review... I had to read it and now I have to respond to it, as I don’t want a child to miss a great education opportunity.I am sorry for the family and the child who had such negative experience, but it is certainly not the Norm. My child started at Cousteau last year when turned 3 with zero French, and now she has conversations in French, and I have no idea what she is saying. When comparing Cousteau to other preschool/day care programs in North Vancouver, I have to say that you cannot. What is offered at Cousteau is far more. here are some of the reasons why we choose Cousteau for our child:The children are exposed to Native French speaking qualified teachers, this is amazing where your child is exposed all day in an environment where every teacher is speaking their native language, and that is all the child is hearing ******The Curriculum, class lessons, activities, set up of classroom, and the daily routine, it all has a purpose and it is to set up a child with a solid academic foundation that is just beautifulThe hours are set up to lead the child and prepare the child for KGThe staff are just super supportive and helpful, they spoil you, they are quick to respond to calls and emailsCousteau offers the best before and after care services, with amazing and enriching afterschool clubsIt’s a community and you build your network within that community, it is what you make it, we have friends who speak French and families who do not speak French at home, and there are families that do both, you choose what works for you, but it is what you make itAll communications are in French and EnglishThrough an app you are in touch with what is happening at school within your child’s classroomThese are just a few that came to my mind as I am writing this, am not saying that the school is perfect, but they are open to suggestions, they are always in the process of improving their classrooms, their library was recently renovated, they made changes to the parking system that was not working, they encourage and welcome parents to get involve with the school and I am a hard parent to please and I question everything.Am just saying all this because I don't want you to miss the opportunity, visit the school, attend the open house, and ask questions and decide for your self. Cousteau may not be a school for every child, but if it is for your child, it will be the most amazing experience they will have.

Our four kids attend this school. we have been part of the community since 2011 and we are firm believer of the bilingual dual program and it's benefit.Cousteau makes you love going to school.More than 25 nationalities, amazing experienced loving teachers and most of all inspiring, a super extra-curricular program from sports to stem to theatre in French and English that makes each day at school a more special and enriching day. Not to mention that it is the only certified eco school in Canada which has a stupendous influence on everyday's behaviour of our kids towards their environment....the list is long !

My children LOVE this school – from the teachers to the students to the challenging curriculum, French and Canadian. The Multicultural environment, friendly spirit and perfect bilingualism of kids. Cousteau School integrates compassion into their teaching standards, emphasizes the importance of values, and builds leaders through each of their classes and lessons. One of the best educational programs in BC!Though it is a small school, it allows for a lower student to teacher ratio, giving children more confidence when asking questions, engage in group activities, and opportunities for one-on-one time with the teachers.Teachers are passionate about seeing their students succeed. They are so great about sharing moments of pride they see within your child – their good behaviors and achievements.The School offers all kind of extra activities at school what is super convenient and the kids have a large choice (you can choose two activities per day from Monday till Friday). The kids could have fun while the parents are working .If you leave far away from school, you can use the school bus in the morning and in the afternoon (at 3:10 pm or 5:30 pm).Cousteau School offers a perfect environment to offer your kid the best education and make your kid happy!Great team – great school!

After extensive research about private schools, we registered our 3.5 years old son to the pre-school program at Cousteau.Unfortunately, we experienced difficult times at Cousteau and got the minimum support from the school.Firstly, I would not recommend the school if neither one of the parents speak French.Although they tell you that 75% of parents do not speak French at home, but many know French and they just do not speak at home.Further, please be aware that there are teachers at Cousteau who barely speak English and communicating with them is so hard if you do not speak French.Our son has suffered tremendous amount of stress in the classroom.His teacher could not communicate with him well.Secondly, the system is very strict and our son claims he has been physically punished.From day one, he claimed that his teacher squeezed his finger backward to stop him from crying. He showed us exactly how the teacher did it.A concept that he never seen before and it was not a scenario that he could use his imagination to create!We approached the school and they did not address our concern properly and they claim our son has problem adapting to the system and he is possibly imagining the teacher doing this because he does not like the school!We hired a child psychologist to understand the situation. We came to conclusion that the school fail to help him adopt to the system and the system is very strict. We feel that the system is designed to normalize kids and the disciplinary methods are very harsh for this age group.The pressure was sever on our child that he started biting on his figures.According to our paediatrician and private counsellor this was due to the stress he was experiencing at his school.We got the minimum support from the management team of the school about all the issues.They kept pushing us towards the idea of our son has issues adopting and get away from the fact that the system failed to support him!Further, I picked up my child twice with scratches on his body and none of the teachers knew what happened to him at that time. Apparently they left unsupervised in the class and could not explain us what has happened.I am very disappointed with Cousteau. My son attended the school for only 3 months and it had very bad effect on him. It has been 3 months that our child does not go to Cousteau, still before he goes to bed he tells me mom