A steadily growing number of parents are choosing to enrol their children at private schools in the Principality of Monaco. In fact, over the last 10 years, the share of privately educated children attending school in Monaco has grown by 22% to now represent a full third of all pupils.  

In mid-December, Monaco’s state-run statistical agency IMSEE released a detailed report into the education system in the Principality.  

It covered a range of topics, from sections on the nationalities of pupils – 38% are French while 20% are native Monegasque – to a breakdown of the ratio between primary and secondary school students, but the focus was by-and-large on the growing preference for private education over state schools in Monaco.  

According to IMSEE, the number of parents electing for a private education for their children has risen by 22% in the last 10 years. A decade ago, there were 1,792 private enrolments while today there are 2,185.

Going further, the report has revealed that while the number of public sector pupils has remained relatively stable from last year to this, with just four additional seats, the population of privately educated students has swelled by 106.  

This is explained, according to the report, by the launch of The British School of Monaco, which opened its doors during the 2022/23 school year. This brings the total number of registered private schools in Monaco to three, compared to the 13 public establishments. 

Indeed, Monaco’s most popular school is the private Institution François d’Assise – Nicolas Barré, which currently has 1,170 pupils or 18% of the total school-going population on its books. The International School of Monaco, also a private establishment, is the fourth most attended, with nearly 800 students currently enrolled.  

A “cosmopolitan” school system 

68.2% of Monaco’s students live in the Principality, although that figure rises to 74.2% for the private sector and falls to 65.2% for the public school system. Considering all pupils enrolled in Monaco, 31% live nearby in the Alpes-Maritimes, while the remaining 0.8% are registered as living elsewhere. 

The report describes the population of students are being “cosmopolitan, as in Monaco”. 

“In 2023/24, [Monaco’s schools] will be home to no fewer than 82 different nationalities,” reads the report. “Pupils of French nationality are the most numerous, followed by Monegasques and Italians. Six other nationalities account for more than 100 people.” 

73.1% of British students go private 

While the majority of Monegasque, French and Italian students attend the Principality’s state schools, “Anglo-Saxon nationalities are more present in the private sector”, according to the report. British students are the fourth most represented nationality and 73.1% of these students are enrolled at a private school in Monaco.   

Data on the students enrolled at the Princess Grace Academy of Dance and the AS Monaco Academy was excluded from the report.  

To read the report for yourself, click here.  

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Photo source: Stefano Tanasi, Unsplash