Ecole des Trois Ponts Reviews 

It is such a warm, comfortable place to learn French. I was able to ask about all of the grammar rules that were unclear and made huge gains in pronunciation and speaking. Speaking only French for two whole weeks makes a big difference. The atmosphere is delightful and the food is amazing. Highly recommended.

First class instruction, excellent environment to study and improve on existing language skills. I would highly recommend Ecole des Trois Ponts to anyone who wishes to learn French in an immersive environment.

I attend every year and the standards of teaching remain at a high level with a convivial atmosphere & delicious food. I've stayed with a local family on the last two occasions which has really boosted my confidence in communicating & understanding French. Doing the afternoon hiking week is superb - visiting the Roannais countryside very much reminds me of Derbyshire. I hope to be back again in 2020!
Mark
Manchester UK

My wife and I returned to L'Ecole des Trois Ponts in September. It was our third visit and we hope to return again. L'Ecole is a true French immersion. Most students stay onsite in comfortable rooms. We did the small group lessons, which included five students. The teacher was delightful and easy to work with. Instead of being a strict grammarian, she encouraged conversations and group interactions. Of course there were many corrections and grammer exercises, but not in ways to kill the joy of participating.

Meal times were very enjoyable. The chef made wonderful and delicious meals. The cheese courses were yummy, offering a range of cheeses from across France during the week. Similarly, there was a nice range of local and more regional French wines. Meal-time conversations were in French, which allowed for more informal dialogue and practicing.

L'Ecole has started to offer weeks that include afternoon walking / hiking in the nearby countryside. These excursions are led by Valérie, the school director. We enjoyed the four hikes offered. They were a mix of more hilly and small towns destinations. The walking allowed for many informal French conversations among the students and with Valérie. We learned many things about the countryside which you wouldn't learn in the classroom.

We have enjoyed our three visits. In each visit, we scheduled L'Ecole for our first week in France. It provided for a great jump-start of our French language skills. We look forward to our next visit!

The teaching, accommodation, food were a joyful experience for us

My 9-year-old daughter and I had a fantastic mother-daughter learning experience here. Lessons were targeted to her age and the school is confined so she could read in the kitchen or courtyard area safely. Great place for families!

Excellent teachers (Profs) and excellent tuition
Excellent food and wine
Excellent ambiance
Excellent location
Very comfortable accommodation and spotlessly clean

This was my 3rd experience at French schools and Trois Ponts was definitely the best.
The 2 weeks were very good.
The directrice and teachers are very professional and experienced.
The accomodation is comfortable and spotless.
The food is excellent.
I recommend Trois Ponts highly.

An excellent French immersion experience with friendly supportive staff, beautiful surroundings and delicious food and wine. The lessons are engaging and varied and everyone makes good progress.

This was my second visit to L'Ecole des Trois Ponts, and it will not be my last. The staff there are extremely diligent in ensuring that every student achieves his or her potential during their stay.
There is a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere. The classes are small, so that no-one feels inhibited when speaking french, and the teaching staff are patient and understanding.
I particularly enjoyed the extra-curricular activities,which in my case,were afternoon hikes through the lovely countryside, although french cookery and visits to places of interest were also on offer..Speaking in french was mandatory during these activities, which in turn, helped promote confidence in the language.
The meals at l'Ecole were excellent, and as a vegetarian, I was very well catered for. The rooms were kept spotlessly clean, and had french windows overlooking a well-tended garden.
All in all, a wonderful experience, which I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Excellent French school, great teachers and very nice environment

a wonderful experience and truly immersive from breakfast through to dinner, and focus not just on language proficiency, but also an understanding of modern french culture. the teachers are very helpful, supportive and always encourage your attempts at conversing in french.

The main goal of this trip was to improve my French and I believe l’école des 3 ponts helped me achieve that. I have learned new grammar rules, new vocabulaire and also have gained confidence when speaking with other francophones.

This was my sixth (6th) visit to Ecole des Trois Ponts which offers high quality French education for adults. On each visit I have stayed two weeks at the school, and after each visit I have a feeling that I had made progress.

Your visit starts with a dinner on Sunday evening during which you get to know the other students. The school has its own chef which fact guarantees the high quality of the meals.

The meals (breakfasts, lunch and dinner) are a good way to practice your French with other students and learn new words.

On first Monday morning after the breakfast you have an informal discussion with Valerie who assigns the students into small groups according to their ability to speak French. The principle is that the students in the same group are at the same skill level. The largest group that I have attended has had 5 students. The smallest group has had one student: me and the teacher. The small group size guarantees that you get individual attention.

In the class you discuss with the teacher and other students about some topic. During the discussion the teacher writes down in her/his notebook the words that you have mispronounced. After the discussion she/he goes through the words that you have misused and teaches the correct spelling and pronunciation. This is a good way to learn from your own and other students errors.

There is a good balance between the discussions and grammar exercises. During my last visit went through the most common verb tenses and pronouns.

Depending on your level you also study articles that are published in French newspapers, such as Le Figaro or Le Monde, or in the internet. You discuss the tone and the content of the article. This is a good opportunity to widen your vocabulary and to learn about the French point of views of the current events.

In some classes you also watch video clips to improve you hearing comprehension.

After or between the classes you can walk to the city of Roanne.On the way to the center of Roanne there is a movie complex where you can relax and practice you French.

If you stay more than one week, you can visit during the weekend nearby cities like Lyon or Vichy with a train or even go to Paris where you can get fast by taking the TGV from Lyon to Paris.

I highly recommend Ecole des Trois Ponts if you want to learn French and to meet interesting people from all over the world: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Finland, UK, Russia, Switzerland, and USA.

One nice thing about the school is that you meet again students that had been there a couple years earlier at the same time as you.

In the past two years, I have spent three weeks at Ecole des Trois Ponts. The program is excellent with lots of possible enhancements (such as the afternoon cooking classes, or the "intensif" program with additional daily hours of speaking with a professeur one-on-one). I liked it so much after my two week stint in 2018 that I brought my mom to join in the fun this summer!

Valerie and her staff are really top notch. I unhesitatingly recommend Ecole des Trois Ponts!

Another superb experience of French immersion! Usually I spend two weeks at the school but time constraints meant that I only had a week for this visit. As usual, my course was designed for my level and I finally mastered some elements of grammaire that have eluded me until now. The immersion experience and small personalized classes make for total absorption all day long! I love that the school is residential so that you don't have to find a place to stay while studying. All meals are included and the four course dinner is an educational event, in itself. All the professors are excellent and very approachable. I am looking forward to returning next spring!

Excellent French Language School ! Nice experience and a very warm team ! A real pleasure, highly recommended !

An incredible all-inclusive experience!!! The teachers, host families and other students were outstandingly welcoming and went out of their way to make sure we had the best possible opportunities to improve our linguistic and cultural knowledge. Absolutely no complaints other than I wish I could have stayed longer!

What a wonderful week improving my French and a highlight of our trip to Europe.
Valerie and her team are a class act! Combining the warmth of a family and a true feeling of belonging, with the expertise in education of everyone on the team and a true passion for what they do!
I have studied French for several years, and this was the best learning I have experienced to date, by far!
After reading others reviews, we detoured from our original holiday plans, to spend a week at École des 3 ponts and I am so grateful we did! I feel more inspired than ever to improve and continue my French journey, and I’m saving up for the next one! I’ll be back. Thank you for a memorable week, even though we experienced le canicule. Marianna

The real test of what École des Trois Ponts can achieve came when I returned home and my French Canadian in-laws were impressed by the improvement (after just 1 week!).