Calandreta

A calandreta (in Spanish little lark) is a type of bilingual school widespread in the south of France with a private and associative character. Its objective, similar to the Basque ikastolas, the Breton diwan or the Catalan bressolas, is to offer free, secular and bilingual education in Occitan and French.

History

The first calandreta was founded in 1979 in the town of Pau in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques. Currently there are more than 2000 students (calandrons) distributed among the 37 primary schools and the 4 secondary schools open in the Occitan-speaking French regions (Limousin, Auvergne, Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc- Roussillon and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). Thus covering a wide geographical area and having representation in the main cities (Toulouse, Marseille, Limoges...).

Status

The network of calandretas schools is not part of the Éducation Nationale system (French public education service), although it maintains a collaboration contract with the Ministry of Education and respects its official programs.