Children generally enter the primary anglophone section in CP at the age of 6. They must first pass an entry test that evaluates their speaking and listening skills in both English and French and their ability to follow a bilingual program.
Section classes are therefore generally made up of children from families where both French and English are spoken at home, children from francophone families who have spent time in an English-speaking country or who have a particularly international outlook and children from anglophone families living in France and who have generally spent their early years in a French-speaking school. Some children use a third or even fourth language in their lives.
The diversity of backgrounds and, sometimes, language levels found amongst the pupils makes these classes particularly enriching. Through the primary years, the children learn and develop together, achieving fluency in both languages and comfort with both cultures.