About us
We're a non-profit charity with the aim of advancing the education of children, particularly but not exclusively through teaching of the French language and about the diverse cultures of the French-speaking world.
Our primary focus is French tuition for our students, creating an environment for our students that will encourage and enhance their bilingualism.
Our primary focus is French tuition for our students, creating an environment for our students that will encourage and enhance their bilingualism.
The school
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The charity currently provides lessons to more than a hundred children every Saturday of the academic terms from 9:45am to 12:15pm. We use 10 classrooms at the Hilden Grange Preparatory School. We also operate a library from the Art Room. Lessons in French language and culture are provided for children aged 3 to 18. This includes special support to students preparing to write their French GCSE before Year 11.
The teaching team is composed of qualified French teachers as well as parents who began as Teaching Assistants. The team follows an agreed Teaching Programme, and has an appraisal system in place to encourage constant development and ensure quality. Classes are conducted entirely in French and so the children attending the school must, at the very least, be used to being spoken to in French and be able to respond. |
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The school uses a range of teaching methods to engage the children in learning French and to assist their general development. These include sing-songs, stories, recounting, acquisition of new vocabulary, new language structures, reading and writing activities. Celebrating French holiday traditions, such as the Galette des Rois and Bastille Day is also part of our curriculum. Our members come from Europe, but also Africa and the Caribbean, classes try to incorporate this in their lessons.
The learning objectives and programs are based on the “Bulletin officiel de l’apprentissage des langues étrangères et régionales” published by the conseil de l’Europe.
Older pupils’ lessons focus on both French language and French culture, including history, geography, literature and the arts, and citizenship. The Charity organises trips to art galleries and coaching sessions, e.g. rugby, all in French to encourage students’ use of the language outside of the classroom.
The learning objectives and programs are based on the “Bulletin officiel de l’apprentissage des langues étrangères et régionales” published by the conseil de l’Europe.
Older pupils’ lessons focus on both French language and French culture, including history, geography, literature and the arts, and citizenship. The Charity organises trips to art galleries and coaching sessions, e.g. rugby, all in French to encourage students’ use of the language outside of the classroom.
Adult classesL’ école des Copains also provides French conversation classes (Beginner and Intermediate level) to non-francophone members. These classes began in April 2016 in response to members’ approval of an initiative to help parents support the advancement of their childrens’ French.
"C'est vraiment cool et mon français est (un petit peu) magnifique maintenant!" - Richard. (Dad, and aspiring bilingualist) |
Our new adult classes have been very successful
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In the community
We hope to educate the community more widely about not only French language and culture, but also bilingualism and multilingualism. These two issues affect a large section of the community in Kent, but are not well understood by education and medical professionals.
By providing opportunities for mutual support as well as doing some advocacy, such as suggesting bilingual awareness training for primary school teachers, we hope to help the many families who feel frustrated and isolated in their efforts to preserve their cultural identity.
Many of our services are offered on a voluntary basis, such as members reading in schools, French tour guides at the art gallery, and rugby coaching in French.
The wider, more public projects we pursue, are chosen based on their merit in supporting our members’ needs in addressing the issues of bilingualism and multilingualism.
By providing opportunities for mutual support as well as doing some advocacy, such as suggesting bilingual awareness training for primary school teachers, we hope to help the many families who feel frustrated and isolated in their efforts to preserve their cultural identity.
Many of our services are offered on a voluntary basis, such as members reading in schools, French tour guides at the art gallery, and rugby coaching in French.
The wider, more public projects we pursue, are chosen based on their merit in supporting our members’ needs in addressing the issues of bilingualism and multilingualism.
Our history
We've been operating since 2008 under the name Petite Ecole Kentoise (PEK), which had two schools - one in Harrietsham and another in Tonbridge. In the beginning each school had about 20 students and 4 teachers.
In September 2015 the school at Harrietsham (which later moved to premises in Lenham) had grown to over 40 students and 4 or 5 teachers, while the school at Tonbridge had grown more significantly, to 116 students and 11 teachers.
Due to this rapid growth, the Tonbridge school had to move from the Hildenborough Church of England Primary School, to larger premises at the Hilden Grange Preparatory School in Tonbridge.
With differing sizes and needs of the two schools, and the members in Tonbridge wishing to formalise the charity’s unincorporated status, PEK members in Tonbridge decided on 5 March 2016 to become an independent entity and register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
Our new school, L'École des Copains, opened officially in September 2016.
Ecole des Copains is a registered CIO. Registered Charity Number 1167503.
In September 2015 the school at Harrietsham (which later moved to premises in Lenham) had grown to over 40 students and 4 or 5 teachers, while the school at Tonbridge had grown more significantly, to 116 students and 11 teachers.
Due to this rapid growth, the Tonbridge school had to move from the Hildenborough Church of England Primary School, to larger premises at the Hilden Grange Preparatory School in Tonbridge.
With differing sizes and needs of the two schools, and the members in Tonbridge wishing to formalise the charity’s unincorporated status, PEK members in Tonbridge decided on 5 March 2016 to become an independent entity and register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
Our new school, L'École des Copains, opened officially in September 2016.
Ecole des Copains is a registered CIO. Registered Charity Number 1167503.
