As a the New Lycée International de Londres – Winston Churchill is due to open doors tomorrow, 3 September, in Wembley Park, 500 pupils, mostly French, and their families will look to get closer to the revitalized area.
The Winston Churchill lycée is just 7 minutes away by foot from Wembley Park station and is extremely well connected with three stations, three tube lines, the overground and two National Rail lines.
As a school for day pupils only, it is drawing not only French families to the area to settle but also the school’s staff, according to developer Quintain. It is expected to have a real impact on Wembley Park.
Quintain has already sold properties to both schoolchildren’s families and school staff.
Newly released data from Google has served to highlight the growing appeal of London as a home to those from France. Back in 2004, French was the third most commonly used language for Google searches in London, after English and Polish. Now, the 2015 data has shown that French has moved up to take the second place spot, making it the most used language in London after English for Google searches.
Up to 400,000 French live in the UK according to the nation’s Embassy. A huge majority live in the capital, resulting in London often being referred to as France’s ‘sixth biggest city’. Traditional geographical hotspots for French communities have been in the south and west of the city (South Kensington, Clapham and Ealing) but things are set to change with the opening of a new French school in Wembley Park, northwest London.
Quintain’s COO James Saunders comments,
“The Lycée International de Londres – Winston Churchill is yet another excellent addition we are excited to see join the community here at Wembley Park. The recently refurbished SSE Arena, Hilton Hotel and new London Designer Outlet have already had a hugely positive impact on the area and now the new Lycée International is serving to offer an excellent education option for London’s growing French population and other internationally minded families.”
The new school follows the success of the Lycée Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, which this year celebrates its centenary, having been founded back in 1915. The Wembley Park school will be London’s second Lycée and is an exciting addition to the capital’s diverse education offering.
