Secondary Education in France
The French education for children aged 11 to 18. Find out about secondary schooling at French collèges and lycées...
Secondary education is broken into two phases. It begins with the compulsory first cycle for ages 11 to 15 at collège. After four years of collège, the student passes an exam (brevet des collèges). It should be noted that it is not essential for the student to successfully pass the brevet in order to continue schooling. The collège is followed by the post compulsory second cycle for ages 15 to 18 at a lycée. This is completed with the Baccalauréat. As with the elementary schools, registration must be made at the local Mairie by June, or sooner if a child is to be schooled outside of the commune of residence. Enrolment at private and international schools takes place at the school itself. The Service Public website has detailed information on college and high school enrolment procedures, schedules, and every day school life.
What Subjects do Children study in French school?
At collège, children study maths, French, history, geography, one foreign language and second foreign language from age 13 at the latest, physics, chemistry, science (known as SVT which covers natural sciences and biology), technology, music and art. Sport is compulsory for two hours a week at least. Once they move onto Lycée, children can specialise in a chosen area (see below).
Collèges
Collège is the first cycle for kids aged 11-15 years. On completing the CM2 cycle the pupil is ready for admission into sixième (6ème).
Collège | Age | UK, US, other name |
---|---|---|
Sixième (6ème) | 11-12 years | 1st form/year 7/sixth grade |
Cinquième (5ème) | 12-13 years | 2nd form/year 8/Junior High: seventh grade |
Quatrième (4ème) | 13-14 years | 3rd form/year 9/eighth grade |
Troisième (3ème) | 14-15 years | 4th form/year 10/High School: ninth grade |
- Application form
- End of term reports for the past year
- Exit certificate from the school
- Certificate of admission to 6eme
- Proof of vaccination certificates for DT-Polio
- Two passport photographs with name and class requested
Further information is available from the
departmental school inspectorate and from colleges in the commune. The Service
Public website also has information
on college registration
Lycées
For ages 15 to 18. The final three years are the seconde, première and terminale. It is at this point that the student specialises in a chosen area. The final exams are the Baccalauréat (the "Bac"). The Baccalauréat and the "International Option" Baccalauréat (OIB) are globally recognised qualifications for university entrance. Certain Bac exams (for example French) are taken at the end of première, the rest of the bac is taken in June of the terminale year. The Service Public website has more on high school registrationLycée | Age | UK, US, other name |
---|---|---|
Seconde (CAP, BEP) | 15-16 years | 5th form/tenth grade |
Première (CAP, BEP) | 16-17 years | lower 6th form/eleventh grade |
Terminale (BAC) | 17-18 years | upper 6th form/twelfth grade |
The "bac" subjects are grouped by discipline:
- General bac include: Arts & Literature (BAC L), Science (BAC S), Social & Economic (BAC ES)
- Technological bac includes: Science & Industrial Technologies (STI2D), (Applied Arts & Design STD2A), Science & Laboratory Technologies (STL), Medical & Social Sciences (ST2S), and Science & Management Technologies (STMG)
- Detailed information from the Ministry of Education
Lycée d'enseignement professionnel (LEP/LPA)
The LEP and LPA are technical or professional school alternatives to lycée which can be followed after receiving a brevet des collèges.Repeating
the Year (Redoubler)
Children in primary and secondary schools will only repeat
the same year (redoubler) under specific
circumstances. Further information about redoublement is
available on Service Public.
The New Baccalauréat in France
The
French Bac is undergoing a major revamp, set to be in place by 2021. The
changes are one of many of Macron’s planned reforms, as he claims that the
actual system doesn’t allow teenagers to adequately prepare for universities
and other higher education options. Some changes have already been implemented
and students have been introduced to the Baccarélauat system.
The
new Bac (short for Baccarélauat) will include continuous control - that is, 40%
of the final grade will be based on work during the final two years at high
school. The actual exam at the end of the two years will be made up of 4
written exams and an oral of about 30 minutes.
The
traditional series of Literature (Bac L), Science (Bac S) and Economics &
Social Studies (Bac ES) will be replaced as follows:
All
students will continue to study French, philosophy, history-geography, and
modern languages
In
the second year of high school, students choose 3 specialist subjects such as
mathematics, sciences, economics and social sciences, arts, and in the final
year select 2 of these subjects as their ‘majors’ in addition to 2 ‘minor’
subjects
Optional
subjects
New
subjects will also be available such as geopolitics and political science, and
computer and digital sciences.
The
final exams will be spread throughout the final two years rather than in the
same week in June at the end of the final year. The student will still need a
minimum average of 10 out of 20 to succeed. If they fail by just a few points
they will stay have the possibility to do an oral exam to try to catch up the
missing points - the oral de rattrapage.
For more details visit the Edusol Education website
Children
with special needs can sometimes be catered for in mainstream schools. When
this is not possible, there are special schools or learning from a distance.
- Service-public
has detailed information about schooling for children with
special needs
It is the
responsibility of the maison départementale des
personnes handicapées (MDPH) to evaluate a child’s
special needs and transfer the result to the Commission des droits et de l'autonomie des
personnes handicapées (CDAPH). A personalised
programme is created for the child (Projet personnalisé de
scolarisation, PPS), which will determine the help
required.
SESSAD (services d'éducation spéciale et
de soins à domicile) deal with children and teenagers with mental,
motor and sensory disabilities ensuring early education and support for the
family (counselling and accompaniment to treatments) through to the end of
compulsory education (and in cases through to university). SESSAD provides a
bridge between the traditional schooling and the extra-school treatments and
rehabilitation.
CLIS (classes d'intégration scolaire)
is for children with disabilities too severe for schooling in regular classes,
but not requiring special facilities. CLIS is a special class within an
ordinary elementary or secondary school (although seldom available in
pre-school facilities). The teaching is adapted to students needs but the
curriculum taught is essentially the same as that taught in the regular classes
There are 4 categories of CLIS:
- CLIS 1 (D): Cognitive
learning disorders, severe mental development limitations
- CLIS 2 (A): Hearing
impairment (troubles auditifs: sourds, malentendants)
- CLIS 3 (B): Visual
impairment (troubles visuels importants: aveugles,
malvoyants)
- CLIS 4 (C): Physical
disability/severe motor deficiency
For more visit the Ministry of Education website
Admission to
CLIS is decided by the CCPE (commission préélémentaire et
élémentaire). UPI (unités pédagogiques d'intégration)
units accommodate children with cognitive learning disorders from age 12 to 16
years (generally coming from CLIS 1). The UPI provides adapted school
integration and partial participation through the teaching and activities. This
system is being expanded to incorporate children with sight, hearing and
physical disabilities. Commonly, learning assistance is handled outside of
school hours by relevant therapists (and if the child is not coping at their
level they may be held back). If the child needs constant or specific
assistance, then they will be admitted to a specialist school. A family doctor
will be able to advise further, as will the Mairie and
the school in the relevant catchment area.
- Extensive
information with contacts to organisations and support groups on the ONISEP website
- The Ministry of Education
has produced a guide on the education of children with disabilities (PDF)