Junior Academy

What Junior Academy does

Junior Academy is a private bilingual Montessori school founded in 2022 by Sarah Latreche, operating from a single campus at 2 chemin de Lorette, Saint-Genis-Laval, approximately 20 minutes south of central Lyon, France. The school serves children aged 2.5 to 12 across two AMI-certified Montessori environments: the Children's House (ages 3-6) and the Explorers' Community (ages 6-12), with a maximum of 25 children per class and approximately 50 children enrolled in total. It is operated as a 'hors contrat' independent school, meaning it sits outside the French state contract system and receives no public funding, instead being financed entirely by family tuition contributions.

The school's core technology is its pedagogical architecture: all lead educators hold Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) diplomas, the most demanding Montessori qualification, and the school implements a 'one person, one language' French-English bilingual immersion model in which a French-speaking educator and an English-speaking educator are simultaneously present, with English representing approximately 50% of the school day. Teaching is delivered through complete AMI-certified Montessori materials spanning six developmental areas (practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics, culture, and immersive English) within multi-age classrooms that encourage peer-to-peer learning.

Junior Academy monetizes through a multi-tier subscription model. Primary revenue comes from monthly tuition (€504/month for 3-6 and €546/month for 6-12, paid over 10 months), supplemented by one-time enrollment fees (€420) and annual supplies fees (€130-€150). Recurring ancillary revenue streams include organic local canteen services (€90-€100/month), after-school care (€80/month, tax-deductible), and two extension products marketed to non-enrolled families: Wednesday workshops (€82.50-€150/month annual or €48 pay-as-you-go) and themed holiday camps (€27-€48 per day or €210 per week). A 5% sibling discount applies from the second child. The school uses a sales-led four-step admissions process (phone call, school visit, family meeting with child, contract signing) and relies on direct relationship marketing, a bilingual website, and word-of-mouth referrals rather than paid advertising.

Name

Junior Academy

Legal name

Junior Academy

Website

https://junioracademy.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Junior Academy is a private bilingual Montessori school in Saint-Genis-Laval, near Lyon, serving approximately 50 children aged 2.5-12 with AMI-certified pedagogy and French-English immersion, financed entirely by family tuition outside the French state contract system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Bilingual Montessori Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Montessori K–12 Schools (EDAJABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bilingual & Language-Immersion Early Learning Academies (EDACADAG), Montessori Preschools (EDACABAC), Preschool Programs within Private K–12 Schools (EDACABAM)

Keywords

• Bilingual education
• Montessori preschool
• Language immersion
• Early childhood education
• Private elementary school

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Genis-Laval

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. School tuition: Monthly tuition fees paid over 10 months per academic year. Tiered pricing by age group: 3-6 class at €504/month, 6-12 class at €546/month. This is the primary recurring revenue stream.
2. Canteen services: Organic local meals served daily. Canteen fee: €90/month for 3-6 class, €100/month for 6-12 class. Lunch box option available for €40/month. Delivered hot daily from local organic farming.
3. After-school care: After-school care from 4:30pm to 6pm, €80/month, tax-deductible in France. Provides a gentle transition home with quiet time, free play and snack.
4. Wednesday workshops: Bilingual Montessori workshops on Wednesdays for children aged 3-9. Annual enrolment (36 Wednesdays): half-day €82.50/month, full-day €150/month. Pay-as-you-go: full day €48. After-care €22/month or €7/session.
5. Holiday camps: Themed holiday camps during each school break (Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer) for children aged 3-9. Pricing: half-day €27, full day €48, full week €210 (€170 for spring with Monday public holiday). After-care €6/day.
6. Enrollment and supplies fees: One-time enrollment fee of €420 payable when application is filed. Annual supplies fee: €130 for 3-6 class, €150 for 6-12 class. 5% sibling discount applied from second child onwards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Junior Academy is a private bilingual Montessori school serving children aged 2.5 to 12 years through AMI-certified Montessori pedagogy combined with daily French-English language immersion. The school delivers full-time education across two mixed-age environments (Children's House 3-6 and Explorers' Community 6-12), supplemented by Wednesday workshops and themed holiday camps for ages 3-9. All offerings are delivered by AMI-trained lead teachers and English-speaking assistants using complete Montessori materials, with organic locally sourced meals and capped class sizes of 25 children.

Product overview

Junior Academy is a private bilingual Montessori school offering a unified educational service centered on AMI-certified Montessori pedagogy combined with daily French/English immersion. Its portfolio comprises three named offerings: the full-time École Montessori (split into the Children's House for ages 3-6 and the Explorers' Community for ages 6-12), the Wednesday Workshops for part-time bilingual activities, and the Holiday Camps for school-break immersion. All three offerings share the same pedagogical pillars — Montessori materials, mixed-age classrooms, and native-speaker language immersion — and are delivered by the same teaching team at the same Saint-Genis-Laval campus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• École Montessori à temps plein (Children's House 3-6 ans et Explorers' Community 6-12 ans) Full-time bilingual Montessori education delivered in two dedicated environments: Children's House for ages 3-6 and Explorers' Community for ages 6-12, with AMI-certified educators and daily French-English immersion. Target audience: families in the Lyon metropolitan area seeking an alternative to traditional schooling with small class sizes and individual follow-up.
• Ateliers du mercredi (Wednesday workshops) Bilingual Montessori workshops held every Wednesday for children aged 3-9, available as annual enrolment (36 Wednesdays per year) or pay-as-you-go, covering themes such as arts, science, sport, cooking, and nature. Open to children enrolled at Junior Academy as well as those attending other schools.
• Stages de vacances (Holiday camps) Themed bilingual holiday camps offered during each school break (Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer) for children aged 3-9, providing immersive activities with native English-speaking staff in a Montessori-inspired environment. Open to non-enrolled children with limited places per session.
• Cantine bio & locale (Organic local canteen) Daily hot lunch service delivered to the school from local organic farming, offered as a subscription for both 3-6 and 6-12 environments, plus an optional lunch box package for families who prefer to bring their own meals. Priced separately from tuition.
• Garderie après l'école (After-school care) After-school care service from 4:30pm to 6pm offering a gentle transition home with quiet time, free play, and snack. Available as a monthly subscription, tax-deductible under French regulations. Open to enrolled families.

Quantifiable outcome

• Children leave with French Éducation nationale expected end-of-cycle-3 level
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ABC Montessori International School: Montessori school offering bilingual tracks in France with multi-age environments. Comparable on AMI methodology plus bilingual immersion and small-class structure, positioning it as one of the closest direct analogues to Junior Academy in the French market.
• La Petite École Bilingue: Private bilingual French-English schools in Paris targeting similar parent profiles (international and French families seeking immersion). Comparable on the bilingual-immersion axis; less directly comparable on the AMI Montessori axis but operating in the same premium private education segment.
• Montessori Saint-Exupéry: AMI-oriented Montessori school in the Paris region serving nursery and primary-age children. Comparable on AMI-certified Montessori delivery and mixed-age classrooms, though typically French-only instruction and serving a different metropolitan catchment.
• École Montessori Internationale de Lyon: AMI-affiliated Montessori school serving the Lyon area across multiple age groups. Directly comparable as a Lyon-region Montessori school offering the same AMI pedagogy and serving overlapping family demographics, though typically less focused on bilingual immersion.

Regional players

• International School of Lyon (ISL): English-medium international school serving the Lyon metropolitan area with a foreign curriculum and English instruction. Comparable as a Lyon-based private English-language school attracting international and bilingual families, though it serves a broader age range and uses a non-Montessori pedagogy.
• The British School of Lyon (BSL): English-medium British curriculum school serving the Lyon expatriate and bilingual family market. Comparable on English-language immersion and Lyon-area catchment, though delivers a British national curriculum rather than AMI Montessori pedagogy.
• Le Jardin des Enfants Montessori: Network of Montessori schools in France (notably Paris) following AMI-influenced practice. Comparable on Montessori methodology and parent demographic, but primarily Paris-based and French-medium rather than bilingual.

Emerging players

• L'École des Petits: Network of small bilingual Montessori-inspired preschools in major French cities. Comparable on French-English bilingual offering and small-class structure for early years, though typically preschool-only (3-6) without the 6-12 environment Junior Academy provides.

Broad incumbents

• École Active Bilingue (EAB) — Paris: Long-established bilingual private school network in Paris with multiple campuses and a broader curriculum portfolio. Comparable as a hors contrat French bilingual private school serving expatriate and Francophile families, though at much larger scale and without the Montessori-specific positioning.

Others

• Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) — France network: The international body certifying Montessori schools and training AMI educators. Relevant as the credentialing ecosystem that defines the talent pool and quality standard Junior Academy depends on, rather than a commercial competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/junior-academy-fr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Junior Academy