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. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

school in

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

where the Occitan language is a medium of instruction, alongside

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. These schools are based on the same principle as the '' Diwan'' schools of Brittany, as well as the ''

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

'' movement in Ireland, the ''

Ikastolak An (, plural ) is a type of primary and secondary school in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and (to a much lesser extent) the French Basque Country (see Basque Country) in which pupils are taught either entirely or predominantly in the ...

'' movement in the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, the '' Ysgolion Meithrin'' movement in Wales, and the

La Bressola La Bressola () is a cultural association founded in Perpignan, France in 1976 to promote a network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs in France, particularly in the comarques of North Catalonia. The first cent ...

schools of

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia, ; french: Catalogne (du) Nord ; oc, Catalonha (del) Nòrd; es, Cataluña (del) Norte) French Catalonia or Roussillon refers to the Catalan-speaking and Catalan-culture territory ceded to France by Spain ...

. The first Calandreta appeared in 1979 in

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (, ) is a Communes of France, commune overlooking the Pyrenees, and prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The city is located in the heart o ...

. A total of 62 such primary schools existed as of 2016, as well as three high schools, teaching 3,614 students in total across 18 départements of France. The Calandretas are privately run, secular and free of charge. They follow a program approved by the Ministry of National Education. Ecole Calandera de Béost

References

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