EFI (French International School of Phnom Penh) - Koh Pich Campus

EFI operates two campuses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Koh Pich (Diamond Island) and Bassac Garden City. The Koh Pich campus sits on Elite Town Street and shares its facilities with the Canadian International School of Phnom Penh. The Bassac Garden City campus houses the TPS (nursery) and PS (pre-kindergarten) classes and is located in a quiet Bassac Garden City neighborhood on premises shared with CIS. The two campuses together support EFI's bilingual education model.

EFI operates two streams: an International stream (English-based) and a 100% French stream starting August 2024. The Koh Pich campus serves students from Moyenne Section and Junior Kindergarten onward, while Bassac Garden Campus houses the younger TPS and PS groups. The school provides education from early years through Grade 12, with Grade 11 opening in 2023 and Grade 12 in 2024.

EFI is a private bilingual school. It operates across two campuses serving a range of year groups from early years through secondary; the school does not list a boarding provision.

EFI serves around 200 students with representation from about 30 nationalities. The most common nationality is French (about 51%). The school states it has 30 nationalities represented; a precise local-to-international ratio is not publicly disclosed.

EFI offers differentiated learning with access to therapists and specialists (including speech therapists, child psychiatrists, and psychologists). After a diagnosis, the school can implement a differentiated pathway and ongoing support as needed; staff are trained to address Special Educational Needs (SEN) within the school's framework.

EFI is affiliated with France through the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE).

EFI is a secular school; no religious instruction is part of the standard curriculum.

Morning drop-off begins around 7:40 am; lessons start at 8:00 am. On Koh Pich, older students finish at 3:00 pm (MS–CM2) or 3:15 pm (Collège/Lycée), while younger students finish at 3:00 pm on the Bassac Garden campus for TPS-PS. Lunch at Koh Pich is typically at 12:00 pm (MS–CM2) or 12:15 pm (college/lycée). The school does not offer on-site daycare; students must be picked up on time.

EFI offers a school bus service. Details and routes are arranged to accommodate families, with bus options noted in school communications and listings.

The school provides a dual educational framework combining the French Ministry of Education programs with the Cambridge Assessment International Education system across all grade levels. Instruction is delivered via a bilingual immersion model in French and English, with primary cycles utilizing a split timeline involving both French-speaking and English-speaking educators. From the primary school stage onward, core subjects include mathematics, sciences, history, geography, physical education, arts, and an optional third language choice between Khmer and Mandarin Chinese. As students progress into middle school, spanning grades six through nine, the academic track prepares them to take the French National Diploma examination at the conclusion of grade nine. Finally, the high school stage covering grades ten to twelve structures learning around international certifications, where students complete Cambridge IGCSEs before advancing to A-Levels and the French Baccalauréat qualifications.

EFI Phnom Penh prioritizes the education and well-being of each child and aims for students to thrive socially and emotionally in the school environment. The curriculum emphasizes holistic development and well-being, including social‑emotional aspects from early years. In bilingual classes, two teachers per class support active participation and social integration. The school offers a stimulating, varied environment to develop intellectual, artistic, relational, and emotional growth, with a focus on self‑confidence and collaborative skills. Through project‑based learning and a multidisciplinary approach, EFI fosters kindness, teamwork, and thoughtful engagement.

EFI provides differentiated learning to address diverse needs. The school notes differentiated learning and reinforced French/English language support to ensure participation. Children with special educational needs may include difficulties in adapting, behavioral issues, and learning difficulties. Diagnoses are often identified by teachers in the first weeks, with a professional diagnosis by therapists available in Phnom Penh. After diagnosis, EFI, the family, and the therapist implement appropriate measures to support the child, potentially including a differentiated pathway. The information does not state that EFI is a specialist SEN institution.

EFI supports English as an Additional Language through a bilingual program in which two teachers per class teach in French and English. The programs taught are those of the French National Education but in two languages, and outside of classroom time students are immersed in an English‑speaking environment. Sixty percent of study time is with the French‑speaking teacher and forty percent with the English‑speaking teacher. English and French are present every day in students' timetables. The school also notes that, outside class, students are exposed to English through interaction with peers on the CIS campus. This structure supports language development and academic success in both languages.

In the early years, the TPS/Nursery program is specifically described as prioritizing the well‑being of the child, including physiological, relational, emotional, and educational needs. EFI creates a stimulating and varied environment to support the child's full potential and holistic development. The curriculum reinforces self‑confidence, autonomy, socialization, and emotional richness through language, play, and social interaction. The bilingual, multicultural setting and collaborative activities contribute to students' mental wellbeing by fostering belonging and positive relationships.

The school does not publicly disclose information regarding safeguarding and child protection policies. A privacy policy is published on the site, outlining data handling practices.

1. Online Application and Document Submission
Parents initiate the process by completing a digital enrollment application via the school's online EDUKA platform. This step requires compiling and uploading a designated collection of records, including signed procedural rules, a health history form with proof of immunization, past academic report cards, and identification passports for students, parents, and any authorized pickup guardians. Once all digital materials are fully compiled, an automated acknowledgment of receipt is issued to the family via email. Reviewing families must ensure all data is accurate, as incomplete application files will pause the evaluation process until all missing documents are provided.

2. Principal Interview and Review Meeting
For families located in Phnom Penh during the enrollment period, the school schedules an in-person meeting with the school Principal. This session serves as a factual review of the applicant's academic profile and provides an opportunity to discuss their linguistic background in relation to the school's dual educational paths. It ensures that the academic frameworks of the school match the student's learning profile before an official decision is issued. For overseas families who cannot attend a meeting in person, alternative communication arrangements are coordinated directly through the school administration.

3. Placement Review and Language Assessment
Following the initial profile review, the administration evaluates the student's linguistic capabilities and age eligibility to determine the correct grade level placement. Students are strictly assigned to classes based on their exact chronological age as of December 31st of the current academic year, with the nursery stream accepting children starting at eighteen months old. If an applicant does not exhibit a sufficient level of English proficiency for immediate independent tracking, the school issues specific pedagogical recommendations to support their integration. This step guarantees that incoming students are structurally prepared for the linguistic demands of their assigned stream.

4. Admission Decision and Registration Finalization
The final step concludes with a formal admission decision communicated directly to the parents by the school Principal. The decision will explicitly categorize the student as admitted, conditionally admitted, placed on the official waiting list, or not admitted. To secure the offered placement, families must finalize the financial registration requirements, which include paying the non-refundable first-time enrollment fee and the capital fees. Access to classrooms, extracurricular activities, and school transport services is conditional upon completing these upfront financial allocations before the designated payment deadlines.

To accommodate households with varying financial situations, the school manages an official scholarship program authorized by the Board of Directors. This program operates as a confidential, needs-based financial assistance system rather than an automatic merit-based track.

Waiting lists operate as follows:
Priority 1 is for students already enrolled at EFI;
Priority 2 is for siblings of EFI students;
Priority 3 is for students who have previously been enrolled at EFI;
Priority 4 is for new students, in the order that complete dossiers are submitted to the school administration.