Private French school to make the grade in Winnipeg this fall

A francophone couple has founded a first-of-its-kind private school in Manitoba as demand for French education hits record levels.

Lycée Français International de Winnipeg is scheduled to open in September.

Kindergarten-to-Grade 6 classes will study curriculum from both Manitoba and France — the birthplace of the teachers behind the new school.

“We are so excited,” said principal Kamel Fekiri, who is collaborating with his wife and business partner, Chérifa Bachiri.

“We are preparing all the things, making plans for the school — how to install tables, how to set up a whiteboard, how to decorate.”

The school, which is charging $12,000 in tuition per student, is part of a global network of French schools.

The Agence pour l’enseignement du français à l’étranger, an organization dedicated to promoting the French national curriculum abroad, has roughly 600 members.

There are schools in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and B.C., but none between Calgary and Toronto.

“It’s better to have choice than no choice,” Fekiri said in an interview during which he alternated between English and French.

The school will operate out of Morrow Gospel Church in St. Vital. The property, located at 755 St. Anne’s Rd, backs onto Bois-des-Esprits.

The couple initially planned to launch in September 2025, but Fekiri said they had trouble finding the right space.

They are leasing the 4,000-square-foot building, which will include four classrooms, a gymnasium and a common area.

Fekiri said it’s been a lifelong dream of his to run a school of his own.

He and his wife, both of whom were born in Paris, met while studying at university in their hometown.

They moved their family to Winnipeg about three years ago with a mission to raise their five children as strong English and French speakers.

If all goes according to plan, their school will welcome up to 45 students next year.

Class sizes will not exceed 15 students, Fekiri said.

The principal said a low student-to-teacher ratio is one major appeal, as well as the ability for any family to register, regardless of their household’s language skills.

In order to be eligible to enrol in Manitoba’s francophone school division, at least one parent must either speak French as their first language or have studied at a French school.

“The more people that are learning French, either through immersion, through our schools or through independent schools, it’s important,” said Alain Laberge, superintendent of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine.

Laberge said he’s not afraid of competition.

The division has a unique program that focuses on immersing students in Franco-Manitoban culture, he said.

French immersion and français programs have surged in popularity across the province over the last decade.

Last year, there were 26,445 full-time equivalent students in immersion streams — a 28 per cent increase since 2014-15.

The French population, which reached 6,867 during the 2024-25 school year, is up 23 per cent. English enrolment has grown six per cent during that period.

Parents are increasingly recognizing the benefits of bilingualism, said Joel Martine, executive director of Canadian Parents for French Manitoba.

“People have an appetite to give (their children) the best chance for success and learning two languages does that,” Martine said, adding that French-language skills open up job and travel opportunities.

The challenge across the sector remains a shortage of qualified French teachers available to meet demand, he said.

His group recently penned a letter to the province with recommendations to improve recruitment and retention.

It called for the creation of a $4,000 “teacher placement grant” to encourage working in rural and northern communities.

Martine and his colleagues also urged the province to consider retention stipends and a tuition-based tax credit to offset education costs for French teachers.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca