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InFrance,secondary education is in two stages:
The school year starts in early September and ends in early July. MetropolitanFrench school holidays are scheduled by theMinistry of Education by dividing the country into three zones (A, B, and C) to prevent overcrowding by family holidaymakers oftourist destinations, such as theMediterranean coast and ski resorts.Lyon, for example, is in zone A,Marseille is in zone B andParis andBordeaux are in zone C.
In contrast to the practice in most other education systems, the school years in France are numbered on a decreasing scale. Thus, pupils begin their secondary education in thesixième (6th class) and transfer to alycée in theseconde (2nd class). The final year is theterminale.
InFrench, the wordétudiant(e) is usually reserved foruniversity-level students, andcollège andlycée students are referred to asélèves ('pupils' or 'students' in English).
The curriculum (programme officiel) is standardized for all French public institutions. Changes to the programme are made every year by the French Ministry of Education and are published in the Ministry'sBulletin officiel de l'Éducation nationale (BO), the official reference bulletin for educators.
| Age | Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| 11–12 | Sixième | 6e |
| 12–13 | Cinquième | 5e |
| 13–14 | Quatrième | 4e |
| 14–15 | Troisième | 3e |
The collège is the first level ofsecondary education in theFrench educational system. A pupil attendingcollège is calledcollégien (boy) orcollégienne (girl). Men and women teachers at thecollège- andlycée-level are calledprofesseur (no official feminine professional form exists inFrance although the feminine formprofesseure has appeared and seems to be gaining some ground in usage). The City of Paris refers to acollège in English as a "high school".[1]
Entry insixième occurs directly after the last year ofprimary school, calledCours moyen deuxième année (CM2). There is no entranceexamination intocollège, but administrators have established a comprehensive academic examination of students starting insixième. The purpose of the examination is evaluating pupils' level on being graduated from primary school.
| Subject | Remarks | Starting in |
|---|---|---|
| Humanities and languages | ||
| French Language andLiterature | Features French and translated foreign works; concentrates on grammar and spelling | 6e |
| History andGeography | French-based, but includes foreign history and geography | 6e |
| A first foreign language1 | Known asPremière langue vivante (LV1) | 6e |
| A second foreign language1 or aFrench regional language | Deuxième langue vivante (LV2) | 6e or 5e |
| Arts and crafts | 6e | |
| Musical education | 6e | |
| Civics | Éducation civique | 6e |
| 1Available foreign languages include:English,German,Arabic,Spanish,Italian,Portuguese, andRussian; other languages available per locale. Most pupils study English as first foreign language, and Spanish, Italian or German as second foreign language. | ||
| Natural and applied sciences | ||
| Mathematics | 6e | |
| Biology andGeology | Sciences de la vie et de la Terre (SVT) | 6e |
| Technology | 6e | |
| Physics andChemistry | 6e | |
| Compulsory courses | ||
| Physical Education | 6e | |
| Optional courses | ||
| Latin | 5e | |
| Ancient Greek | 3e | |
The table at the right details the French curriculum. Along with 3-4 weekly hours ofphysical education, a typical school week consists of some 26 hours of schooling.French language andliterature occupy the most time, 4–5 hours per week, followed by 4 hours per week ofmathematics; other subjects occupy 1-3.5 hours per week.
The curriculum is devised by theFrench Ministry of National Education and applies to allcollèges in France and also forAEFE-dependent institutions.Académies and individual schools have little margin for curriculum customisation. Teachers composesyllabi per precise government educational regulations and choosetextbooks accordingly, and every major French publishing house has a textbook branch.
Usually a differentprofesseur or teacher teaches each subject; most teachers teach several different age groups.Collège pupils stay in the same class throughout the school year and in every subject (except for optional courses such as foreign languages, where students from several classes mix), so each year-group is divided into as many classes as necessary. The strong belief in teaching in mixed-ability classes means thatstreaming occurs only rarely.
Class sizes vary from school to school, but usually range from 20 to 35 pupils. Each class has aprofesseur principal ('main teacher' or 'class tutor') who acts as the link between the teaching staff, administration and pupils.[2]
Ultimately, thecollège has the task of preparing students for the advanced subjects of thelycée. At the end of thetroisième class, students sit forle diplôme national du brevet, an end-of-collège examination. Thebrevet is not required for entrance to thelycée, and passing it does not guarantee that a pupil will progress to the higher-level school.
During the lastconseil de classe of the year, held in June, teachers and administrators decide whether or not a pupil can progress to the next grade. In deciding, they evaluate the student'sskills, participation, andbehaviour. One of three outcomes is possible:
A student asked to repeat a grade canappeal said decision. The decision of the appeals council is final.
Thelycée (pronounced[lise]) is the second and last stage ofsecondary education in theFrench educational system. The City of Paris refers to alycée in English as a "sixth form college".[1] A pupil attending alycée is alycéen (masculine) or alycéenne (feminine).
Until 1959, the termlycée designated a secondary school with a full curriculum (seven years, the presentcollège +lycée) directly under the supervision of the state, then from 1959 to 1963 any secondary school with a full curriculum.[3] Olderlycées still include acollège section,[4] so a pupil attending alycée may actually be acollégien.
At the end of the final year of schooling, most students take thebaccalauréat diploma. There are three main types ofbaccalauréat, which are completely different from each other: thebaccalauréat général (general baccalaureate), thebaccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate), and thebaccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate).
| Age | Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| 15–16 | Seconde | 2de |
| 16–17 | Première | 1re |
| 17–18 | Terminale | Tle |
Lycées are divided into (i) thelycée général, leading to two or more years of post–baccalauréat studies, (ii) thelycée technologique, leading to short-term studies, and (iii) thelycée professionnel, avocational qualification leading directly to a particular career. General and technological education courses are provided in "standard"lycées, while vocational courses are provided in separate professionallycées.
In practice, competent pupils at a vocationallycée professionnel can also apply to take short-term, post–baccalauréat studies leading to theBrevet de technicien supérieur (BTS), a vocational qualification. That option is available also to pupils at alycée général.
In France, thelycée général is the usual stepping stone touniversity degrees.
Before 2021, the students of the general baccalaureate chose one of three streams (termedséries) in the penultimatelycée year (S for Sciences; ES for Economics and Social sciences; and L for Literature). During theseconde, students mostly take the same courses, despite having different academic skills and interests, so it is usually thought to be an easier year than either thepremière or theterminale.
Thebaccalauréat général examination is different for all threeséries, and subjects are weighted according to the course taken.
| Stream | Description |
|---|---|
| S scientifique (sciences) | The science stream (bac S – bac scientifique) requires a high level inmathematics,physics,chemistry,biology,geology and, if available,engineering sciences andcomputer science. |
| ES économique et social (economics and social sciences) | Thebac ES (bac économique et social') requires a high level ineconomics andsocial courses of studies; also inmathematics,history andgeography. |
| L littéraire (literature) | Thebac L (bac littéraire) weighsFrench literature,philosophy,foreign languages andthe arts heavily. Students inpremière littéraire (1re L or1L) have no maths and only a small amount of sciences unless they choose the 'maths' option. Students inTerminale Littéraire (Tle L orTL) have no maths, physics and chemistry or biology unless they chose the 'maths' option in 1L. |
According to the official statistics, for the 2003–2004 school year[update], 33 percent of all students chosesérie S; 19 percent chosesérie ES; and 11 percent chosesérie L.[5]
All students takephilosophy courses interminale, whileFrench language classes end in thepremière, excepting thesérie L, where they becomeFrench literature classes, where pupils are to study two books during the year, from French writers, or foreign books translated into French (e.g.,Romeo and Juliet during the school year 2007–2008, orThe Leopard from Italian authorGiuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa).
There also is a required option for further specialisation in allséries, although it is restricted to the chosen course. For example, a student insérie S can choose to specialise inmathematics,physics, "SVT" (biology andgeology) or "engineering sciences" but not inphilosophy.
A student insérie L can choose to specialise in one of their foreign languages (English being the most popular), a third foreign language or an extinct language such as Latin, or one of the following arts: music, theatre, circus,plastiques. Specialisation adds a separate, weekly two-hour class in the chosen discipline; also, it increases the weight of the chosen subject at thebaccalauréat. Thesyllabus in the specialisation class is unrelated to the material learned in the common class. Specialisation plays no role in the choice of a post–secondary career or subject atuniversity, except for a few courses aimed for students from a givensérie that can also accept students from otherséries if they have taken a given specialisation.
Starting from the 2020–21 academic year, the S, ES and L streams of the generalbaccalauréat were retired. Students of the general baccalaureate now choose three specialty courses, then keep two in the final year. There are 12 specialties, which vary in their availability depending on the school:arts,ecology,history &geography,humanities,languages,literature,mathematics,computer science,physics &chemistry,economic andsocial sciences,engineering sciences,biology &geology. These specialties are added to a part common to all:French,philosophy,history &geography, languages,sciences,sport. A large part of the examinations are now done over the school year but the students also have final exams in their 2 specialties as well as in philosophy, added to a generaloral examination.
After theseconde, students can also go on thelycée technologique to obtain thebaccalauréat technologique. It includes eight other streams, calledséries technologiques:
The STPA and STAE stream are available only inlycées agricoles, speciality schools foragricultural sciences.
The teaching of the lessons is based on inductive reasoning and experimentation. It allows you to work or to pursue short and technical studies (laboratory, design and applied arts, hotel and restaurant, management etc.).
Thelycée professionnel leads to thebaccalauréat professionnel. The courses are designed for students who do not plan to continue intohigher education. The vocational training is for craftspeople and involves internships in commercial enterprises. The courses are suitable for students who are more interested in a hands-on educational approach than in academic schooling. There are nearly 100 specialties, including:Leather crafts; Building technician; Maintenance of industrial equipment; Cooking; Road freight transport driver; Butcher, etc and others.
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French parents are not free to choose the state school that their children will attend; unless the children have special learning needs, they will attend the school allocated to them by thecarte scolaire (school map). Reasons for attending a state school that is not their nearest include studying an option unavailable in the school to which they were originally assigned, such as a rare foreign language.
For many reasons, many parents consider the allocated school standards inadequate, the teaching poor, and particularly if they do not like the idea of their children mixing with some of the other pupils at the school. In any city, there are "better"lycées andcollèges, which parents would prefer their children attend. The two main methods used in such circumstances to get children into a school other than their assigned school are :
A similar trick is used if some classes in a school are seen as "better" than others. For organisational reasons, students taking certain options are grouped into special classes, which may be academically attractive. They typically include classes taking German as a first foreign language, or Latin or Ancient Greek as options.
