For the first time, 20 Killarney Heights Public School students have visited their bilingual sister school, Camberwell Primary School in Melbourne.

Both schools are award-winning bilingual schools, teaching the local syllabuses in French and English.

Killarney Heights Public School principal Gillian Tegg said the visit allowed the students to have authentic experiences with peers who had similar experiences and interests despite being in different cities and states.

“There's a whole different motivation when you're actually engaging with kids your own age, as there's more connection and enjoyment,” she said.

“It also allows students to use their French in meaningful ways, beyond when communicating with grandparents and family in France.”

The students met Victorian French pen pals in person, attended some classes at Camberwell Primary, as well as seeing some of Melbourne’s sights.

Year 6 student Juliette said they made new friends as well as meeting their pen pals.

“'It was a different experience being at school in Melbourne but all the same, we enjoyed lessons in French and English. We even had sport activities together,” she said.

Beyond the social and cultural experiences, the exchange program provides an opportunity to meet the intellectual, social and emotional needs of High Performing and Gifted students.

“We are putting students at the centre of an inclusive curriculum where they can see themselves through the language and cultural experiences and build a strong sense of belonging,” Ms Tegg said.

“Meeting other children who are learning or maintaining French language helps with their social and emotional development.

“There’s also a realisation that they're not the only ones doing bilingual education in Australia.”

Year 6 students Azure and Eddie agreed, noting that experiencing different school routines, teaching and learning styles at Camberwell has helped them “broaden our horizons and embrace our appreciation of a bilingual education”.

Almost half of Killarney Heights Public School’s students come from a French-speaking background and learn the NSW curriculum in French and English, in an education partnership with the French-speaking Association of the North Shore (FANS).

Non-French speaking students have the option to join in, with 85 per cent of the school’s students learning in bilingual classes.

This includes adapting phonics and literacy programs to the French language, meaning francophone students make the same literacy gains as the English-speaking children. Certain science, history, visual arts and PE lessons are delivered in French only for a fully immersive language learning experience.

At Camberwell Primary School, children have the opportunity to learn in the most extensive bilingual program in Victoria, with mathematics, language and science and other subject areas taught in French.

“Importantly, as they are both government schools, this exchange is a real celebration of the public system and what that can provide all students,” Ms Tegg said.

Both schools’ bilingual programs are internationally recognised through accreditation by LabelFrancEducation, part of France’s Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), within the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.