Strongly inspired by the Forest Schools movement, where children spend part of their time in the forest, La Forêt des Lucioles was founded in Annecy in 2018.
Each year, it welcomes 25 children from Year 1 to Year 6, including 4 to 6 scholarship students funded by the association with a view to promoting social diversity.
La Forêt des Lucioles is a school with an innovative teaching approach based on the French National Education programme, like all French schools. It pays particular attention to the ‘fundamental’ skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. In addition to these traditional academic subjects, the three teachers place great emphasis on other equally fundamental aspects of the school’s educational programme: the ability to cooperate, creativity, and caring for others and nature!
The school’s goal is to demonstrate that nature-based education can make a difference, particularly in terms of students’ ability to concentrate and their motivation to learn.
After five years of experimentation, several Lucioles have successfully transitioned to traditional secondary education.
But to take the experiment further, La Forêt des Lucioles opened a secondary school at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. Children will be able to attend school in close contact with nature from Year 1 to Year 9.
Due to its proximity to our headquarters, a genuine partnership has been built with this innovative school since 2023.
The programme includes time spent outdoors, playing, creating and learning, whatever the weather.
Emotional, relational, artistic or physical, children cooperate and learn from others and from themselves.
A strong emphasis is placed on projects that give free rein to children’s creativity.
