The British School of Monaco opened its early years nursery in January, and families have wasted no time. Set in a 250 square metre space at L’Escorial on avenue Hector Otto, it gives children aged three to five a full day of learning, play and rest; something that was surprisingly hard to come by in Monaco until now.
Founders Olena Prykhodko and Luke Sullivan started the school in 2022 with just seven students. Today, it has around 150 pupils across four sites, with the nursery as its latest addition.
Filling a significant gap
While full-day nurseries are standard across much of Europe, in Monaco, many only offer half a day. “What can you do in three hours? It’s impossible,” Maria Lugovoy, a parent, tells Monaco Life. The new nursery runs from 8:45am to 3:30pm, providing a full day of .
“We have 15 students today, against a total capacity of 32 places,” reveals Prykhodko. Each class has a maximum of 16 children, with an English-speaking teacher, a bilingual English-French assistant, and a French teacher who takes the children every morning.
The school follows the British curriculum, but French runs through the whole day due to the mix of families. Close to 30 nationalities are represented, mainly from English, Russian and Italian speaking backgrounds. “Most of our children come from international families who have recently arrived in Monaco,” said Prykhodko. “Many are bilingual or multilingual. Our real expertise is preparing them for that environment.”
A school cosy by design
Inside, the classrooms are bright and softly furnished, more like a home than a school. . Each room is 45 sqm for a maximum of 16 children. Outside, two separate playgrounds of 80 and 160 sqm give the children plenty of room to run and play. For those who want to nap after lunch, the school has also built custom wooden beds.
“We really wanted the children to sleep in a very cosy place,” said Prykhodko. “Children love to sleep here. they really don’t want to wake up afterwards.”
Their daily schedule covers French, reading and writing, maths, music and outdoor play.
“It’s like one big family”
The best reviews came from the parents. Maria and Andrey Lugovoy are an Israeli family with three children at the school. Their youngest started the nursery a month ago.
“On weekends, she’s sad that she doesn’t go to school,” said Maria Lugovoy. “She tries to put her uniform on herself. In the morning, she doesn’t even want to eat breakfast, she just says: ‘Mummy, I want to go to school.'”
For the Lugovoys, it was never just about the hours. “We were looking for something more than the standard approach where the school and parents are completely separate,” said Andrey Lugovoy. “We saw an integrated approach around the child, their education, their well-being and their values. You can see it’s like one big family.”
The international curriculum matters too, for a family that may move again. “We wanted something stable, something we could apply in other places,” he said.
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Main photo credit: Monaco Life