A Calandreta () is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

school in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

where the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

is a medium of instruction, alongside French. These schools are based on the same principle as the '' Diwan'' schools of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, as well as the ''

Gaelscoileanna A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language-Medium of instruction, medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaels ...

'' movement in Ireland, '' Ikastolak'' in the Basque Country, '' Ysgolion Meithrin'' in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and La Bressola of

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the Catalan language, Catalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renu ...

. The first Calandreta appeared in 1979 in

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune overlooking the Pyrenees, the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region of Southwestern France. The city is locat ...

. A total of 62 such primary schools existed as of 2016, as well as four high schools, teaching 3,614 students in total across 18

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

s of France. The Calandretas are privately run, secular and free of charge. They follow a program approved by the Ministry of National Education.

References

Minority schools Occitan language Education in France {{Romance-lang-stub