The French education system 1: pre-school, primary, secondary
(Click here for higher education)
It used to be commonly accepted that the French Education system
was one of the best in the world. Today, though any such a bold
overall affirmation must be open to question, it is still probably true
to say that the French education system is one of the best and most
successful in the world, and that in certain fields it remains a world
leader. According to the OECD, France's education system is average, compared to other developed countries.
Education is compulsory in France from the ages of
6 to 16, but a large majority of children start school well before the
minimum age, often as young as two years old, and over 50% of 18-21
year olds in France are still in full-time education, or else following
a vocational training course. Some 64% of all school pupils in France
complete their secondary education, and take the high-school leaving
certificate examinations, known as the baccalauréat or the
baccalauréat professionnel. The official target - estimated as necessary for the needs of the nation - is 80%.
The different types of school: (taken by age of pupils):
Ecole Maternelle; kindergarten or pre-school. Ecoles Maternelles take
pupils from age 2 to age 6, and prepare them for entry into primary
school. The French école maternelle is more than just a
playschool; the curriculum includes reading and writing, numeracy and
even sometimes a foreign language, as well as artistic and creative
activities. There are three classes, "les petits", "les moyens" and
"les grands".
Ecole primaire, or Ecole élémentaire:
primary school, grade school. Five classes, ages 6 to
11. The primary school curriculum in France is similar to that in other
countries, and includes literacy and numeracy, with classes in French,
arithmetic, but also geography and history, the arts, and more and more
frequently a foreign language, usually English. Until 2008, the school
week was Monday to Saturday morning, with Wednesday free. From
September 2008, there are no more classes on Saturday morning. Pupils
have an average of 28 hours classes per week. The five classes in
the Ecole Primaire are, in order, CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, and
CM2 : CP is Cours préparatoire, preparatory class, CE means
cours
élémentaire - elementary class - , and CM is cours moyen,
middle class; the two middle classes are a preparation for the next
level, which is middle school.
Collège: middle school. Four levels, normally for pupils aged 11
- 15. The "collège unique" is the backbone of the French school
system. All pupils go to collège, usually at age 11, but
sometimes at an older age, if they have been made to repeat a year in
primary school. The collège is designed to provide all pupils
with a fundamental secondary education, after which a certain degree of
specialisation will be introduced. In practice, pupils are frequently
oriented during their collège years either towards general
classes, from which they will be expected to continue their education
in a traditional lycée, or towards more technical classes, after
which they will be expcted to take an exam called the "brevet" (a kind
of GCSE), and then either stop their secondary education (if they have
reached school leaving age), or continue in a "lycée
professionnel" or vocational high school. The programme in
collège includes French, maths, history, geography, technical
education, art/music, physical education, civic education, some
science, and at least one foreign language. The four classes,
corresponding to grades 6 to 9, are called sixième,
cinquième, quatrième and troisième.
Lycée: High School. The traditional French lycée covers
the last three years of secondary education. There are two main types
of traditional lycée, the lycée général or
lycée classique, and the lycée technique. In big towns
and cities, there will be a mix of both types; in smaller towns, there
may not be a lycée tehnique. The main function of the
lycée is to prepare pupils to sit the baccalauréat (or
bac) exam, the equivalent of British A levels. Classes in a traditional
lycée cover the same range as in collège, with the
addition of philosophy (for all) in the final year. The three
classes (grades 10 to 12) are known as seconde, première and
terminale.
In theory, all public lycées offer the same quality of
education, in the framework of of the national education system, and private lycées
have to provide the same quality; in
practice, this is not strictly true, and "league tables" published each
year highlight the very high performance levels of a number of
lycées that are commonly recognised as France's top shools:
these include the Lycée Louis-le-Grand or Lycée Henri-IV
in Paris, the
Lycée Fermat in Toulouse, and a handful of other famous
public lycées. However, in recent years, more and more of the
top positions in the league tables have been taken by private
lycées, such as the Collège Stanislas in Paris, France's
largest private lycée.
Pupils in a lycée technique may begin to specialise
in a fairly narow technical field, in addition to their general
secondary studies. There are technical lycées specialising in
fields such as microtechnologies or aeronautics. Technical
lycées that provide training in very specialised fields are
usually boarding schools, since they recruit pupils from a large
catchment area, and even on occasions from all over France.
Lycée professionnel: Vocational high school. "Lycées
Pros", as they are commonly known, provide an essentially non-academic
syllabus for young people intending to work in manual or clerical jobs.
Pupils will either work towards a "baccalauréat professionnel"
(bac pro), for which they will need to continue taking classes in the
main acaemic subjects - French, maths, and frequently a foreign
language), a BEP (Brevet d'enseignement professionnel), or a CAP
(certificat d'aptitude professionnel). One common type of Lycée
pro, found in most cities, is the "lycée du bâtiment" or
building trades lycée, where pupils specialise in one of the
many trades of the building and construction sector. There are also a
good number of agricultural high schools, "lycées agricoles" and
even horticultural high schools, "lycées horticoles", providing
the increasingly technical ducation required by tomorrow's farmers and
gardeners.
Lycées: les classes préparatoires. See higher education.
Private and public schools:
It is commonly believed, outside France,
that virtually all schools in France are state schools, i.e. in the
public sector. This is a misconception. Over 80% of school
pupils are in state schools, but this leaves a substantial (and
growing) minority of almost 20% who attend private schools - far more,
for instance, than in
the United Kingdom or the USA.
However the private/public divide is not as clear
as it is in other countries. Private schools in France are essentially (about 90%)
catholic schools, in which there is religious instruction in the
curriculum; they select their own teachers, but must follow the same
curriculum as state schools if they wish to remain under contract
(écoles sous contrat) to the state education system. This is a
very important point for almost all private schools, as it means that
the state pays the teachers. Consequently, private schools in France
only charge symbolic or low fees, and are accessible to pupils from all
sectors of society, not just to those whose parents are well-off. There
are only a handful of fee-paying boarding schools in France, similar to
English "public schools".
The state education system attaches great importance to the principle of secularism (la laïcité), and there is no formal teaching of religion
in state schools in France. In theory, religion has no place in state
schools in France. However, recent events in France have led to a
growing demand for schools to teach religious awareness, this
being seen by some as necessary for the development of greater
understanding between people of different religions, notably with
regard to France's Islamic minority. Religious instruction is not
banned from state schools in France; it can take place after hours, for
pupils who wish - or at least, that is the legal position. School
chaplains (aumoniers) are officially appointed by the "recteur"
(Chairperson) of the "académie" (Local Education Authority).
The baccalauréat: Unlike English "A levels" or Scottish
"highers", the baccalaureate is a unitary exam, that pupils pass or
fail. It is impossible to pass in one subject and fail in others. The
only mark that counts is the final weighted average, which must be at
last 10/20 for a pupil to pass. Pupils who achieve just under 10/20 are
often passed by the exam board, whose decision is final. Pupils
achieving betwen 8 and 10 can resit their bacalaureat as an oral exam a
few weeks later. Those who get under 8/20 must retake their year, and
try again.
The general Baccalaureate is organised in different
"series". In their final year, all pupils specialise in function of
the "series" they have chosen, of which currently there are
three; the "L" series
(literary studies), the "ES" series (economic et social studies), and
the S" series (sciences). Each "series" includes different
specialities. The role of lycées in
post-baccalaureat studies is discussed on the higher education page.
There is much discussion among academics and teachers, and
in the media, on the question of the "level" of today's baccalaureate.
In recent years, the success rate at the Baccalaureat has been betwen
75 an 80% (with top lycées achieving 100%). Many academics
complain that the baccalaureate these days is given
away, and that this is a major cause of the high failure rate in the
first year of university. Ministers and civil servants claim that this
is not the case. This polemic, however, is not confined to France, and
the arguments over the academic level of high-school leavers is one
that is frequently highlighted in the media in many countries, even in
Switzerland!
Education in France, 2: Higher education
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