French-Cypriot school to open branch in Limassol

A Limassol branch of the French Cypriot School (Ecole Franco-Chypriote) is expected to be up and running in September next year, Education Prodromos Prodromou said on Wednesday.

The minister, during a visit to the school in Nicosia, along with French ambassador Salina Grenet-Catalano, said the government continues to support the French Cypriot school, with this year’s expansion to host pupils from Lebanon but also the establishment of a branch in Limassol.

“This school is a shining example of the very close cooperation of our country with France,” Prodromou said.

He said the citizens of tomorrow – Cypriots, French or of other nationality – are shaped within the school that will mark its 10 years of operation in Cyprus next September.

“It is with satisfaction that this year we were able to support the school, because it still plays a special role, having managed to welcome children from Lebanon, supporting the friendly country,” Prodromou added.

The school currently has about 450 students, he said, adding that the Cypriot government has made sure to provide everything needed with the expansion of facilities and also with  equipment, “so that we can show our solidarity and welcome students from Lebanon who are facing difficult circumstances.” The school has seen an almost 50 per cent increase in its student population in this year.

“I am glad because in our region, in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus can act as a host country and sends the message of cooperation in need, as is currently the case with Lebanon,” he added.  In this case, he said, the French language becomes the international vehicle for coexistence “and the initiation into the common values ​​of our European space.”

The minister also said that, in cooperation with the French Cypriot school, the Management Committee and the French Embassy, ​​they are working for the school’s expansion in Limassol, with the operation of a branch from September 2022.