BEIRUT – 31 January 2019: In line with its plan to strengthen its presence across Lebanon, Presence Protestante Française au Liban (PPFL), owner of College Protestant Français (CPF), announced the acquisition of Montana International College (MIC) in Dik El Mehdi. The signatory ceremony took place on January 21, 2019 at Collège Protestant Français in Beirut in the presence of senior representatives from the association of Présence Protestante Française au Liban, College Protestant Français, and Montana International College.
Taking effect in 2019 – 2020 academic year, the acquisition, signed by the president of PPFL, Mr. Anis Nassif, and the current owner of MIC, Dr. Joseph Semaan, will see the school rebranded as College Protestant Français – Montana (CPF Montana). The ceremony also marked the appointment of Mr. Bruno Jacquier, currently principal of CPF Beirut, as the new principal of CPF Montana. Joining efforts with the existing management and the education team, Mr. Jacquier will bring his experience to CPF Montana embedding the same values, culture and skills of CPF. Education, under the new leadership, will continue to be delivered in both English and French.
The acquisition is a major step forward in CPF’s ambitious plan to grow its footprint expansion outside Beirut, offering a distinguished education curriculum to Lebanese students. Further, this milestone is also in line with the objectives of the French President Emmanuel Macron to double the number of students in the French educational system around the world.
Since its inception in Lebanon in 1927, CPF Beirut instilled its values in the educational system. These values which became a blueprint for education include discipline, sense of duty, responsibility, critical judgment, tolerance and open-mind.
“CPF values have always been the guidelines which profoundly shaped our educational system. So, bringing students to study together from different cultural, religious and social backgrounds and be part of the same family is the building block of our expertise,” added Mr. Nassif. These values are also the basis of inception of the two major universities the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University.
“As we expand, we specifically look for partners with a track record. In light of this, I’d like to thank the founders of MIC - Mrs. Ghada and Dr. Joseph Semaan – for delivering positive student outcomes. We promise you that the school will be in good hands,” concluded Mr. Nassif.
Commenting on his new role, Mr. Bruno Jacquier said: “The CPF is recognized for its excellence in education and this expansion will greatly contribute to this remarkable reputation. Our commitment to deliver high quality education is supported by the vastly skilled teachers and educators, and the visionary leadership of PPFL. This is what keep our values living throughout the years and what will keep marking our place in people’s minds”.
As a result of this acquisition, CPF Montana will witness a series of upgrades in its facilities and improvements in the curriculum to provide the same high-quality of education that CPF Beirut provides to children and contribute towards the social development of the Lebanese society at large. Several synergies will also be put in place in order to create exchanges between the two schools. The school under the new leadership will aim to cater for a new intake of students of around 600 in the Metn area.
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Notes to the editor:
About Presence Protestante Française au Liban (PPFL): PPFL was Established post a decree published in the French Official Journal on November 29, 1925. Initially, the mission of the association was to promote charity work and educational initiatives of the French Protestants in Lebanon. After Présence Protestante Française au Liban recuperated the works of the German Protestant missionaries following the Treaty of Versailles, the association established an ophthalmological dispensary in 1926 and the Collège Protestant Français for girls in 1927, a private school providing education for students regardless of their culture, religion or nationality under one roof. Education for students from different cultural backgrounds, religions, and nationalities was so successful that the original premises at Starco had to be abandoned in the middle of 1950s for a new location in Madame Curie Street. Présence Protestante Française au Liban, headquartered in Paris, still owns the College Protestant Français, a private school located in Beirut. This association is managed by a board of directors, currently chaired by Mr. Anis Nassif, who recently developed an ambitious expansion plan to go outside Beirut, part of which is the acquisition of the Montana International College.
About Collège Protestant Français (CPF): CPF is a private school established in Beirut by Présence Protestante Française au Liban in 1927, with the mission to provide quality education to girls regardless of their cultural background, religion or nationality. This intellectual and moral education, common to all, was so successful that it soon gave the French Protestant College a great reputation a reputation that has never wavered since. With more - than 1000 students enrolled in the early 1950s, Mrs Louise Wegman, director at the time, managed to build a modern school in Madame Curie Street and move there in 1956. The Collège Protestant Français became mixed in 1971 and has not stopped growing since. Its facilities, initially designed by Michel Ecochard, were modernized over the years with the inauguration of a new cultural and sports center planned for September 2019. The school is accredited with the Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Etranger (AEFE) and offers its 1700 students an education preparing them for French and Lebanese brevet and baccalaureate with exceptional results year after year.
About Montana International College (MIC): Montana International College founded in 2000 by the Dr. Joseph Semaan is a private secular school in the region of Metn-Dik El Mehdi offering an education of quality to everyone. In its mission, Montana International College aims at raising students’ awareness about the importance of social, cultural and religious diversity in a caring and respectful community towards others ethical opinions and choices. In its French and English sections, MIC is committed to offering educational programs of international standards. MIC is a partner school of the AEFE and its French section is accredited by the French Ministry of Education. Since the acquisition of the accreditation in 2006, it prepares its students for the French baccalaureate. In the English section, MIC is considered for its American program built in alignment with the Common Core standards and at the same time prepares its Lebanese students for the Lebanese baccalaureate. In 2018, MIC was officially recognized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate - Diploma Program (IBDP) given the synergy in vision, mission, values with the IBO. It is through this panoply of programs and approaches that MIC meets the expectations of its public characterized by a social, cultural and religious diversity and ensures the integration of its graduates in the most reputable universities on both national and international levels.
Le Collège Protestant Français reprend le Montana International Collège – Français
Le Collège Protestant Français reprend le Montana International Collège – Anglais
Le Collège Protestant Français reprend le Montana International Collège – Arabe
