10 facts about French schools

All pupils are back at school and college in France.That’s the opportunity to speak about that. So I will unveil 10 facts about French school.

School in France is really different from school in the UK. To make an equivalent, I will use the school system from England because that’s the best I know.

            FACT 1

            Pupils at school don’t wear uniforms.

FACT 2

Application for the most of the schools (école maternelle, école primaire, collège, lycée) are opened from the 2nd term and the parents know on May a reply.

FACT 3

Children start school at 3 (sometimes at 2). It is called “l’école maternelle”, that’s the equivalent of an early year school in the UK.

They stay 3 years (4 those who start at 2). Pupils at primary school are 6 years old and they remain for 5 years. At secondary school, It lasts 4 years and College 3 years.

FACT 4

Clubs in the morning and after class are free for early year school and primary school. From primary school, the club is a homework club.

FACT 5

Teachers give a lot of homework every day even for the weekend. On holidays, some teachers give long homeworks. That gets pupils in a bad mood.

FACT 6

Lunchtime lasts 2 hours for early school years and primary school.

One hour for lunch and one hour to play.

From secondary school is 1 or 2 hours according to the time table and the school.

FACT 7

Children at primary school are evaluated with marks out of 10. 0 is the lowest mark whereas 10 is the highest.

FACT 8

It is not the marks of the exams that determine the rest of your school career but the marks of the year. Examiners give marks and not grades like in England.

FACT 9

At the end of each term (in secondary school and college), the teachers meet to discuss the case of each student. This is called “le conseil de classe” (the class council). It is made up of the headteacher, the teachers and the head of class who is a pupil elected at the beginning of the year by his peers.

FACT 10

Do not confuse “collège” (secondary school) and “lycée” (college).

Teenagers stay 3 years at College. Several paths: professional path, technologic path and general path.

There are other facts that I couldn't display because there are more than 10, as you can imagine it.

From secondary school (collège) they are evaluated with marks out of 20. Pupils begin on 6th and leave on 3th.

diagram of the school system in France

             

* There is another type of technological study is "Brevet de technicien". Studies last 2 years after the secondary school.

 Students who will to get a "baccalauréat professionnel" study in the "Lycée professionnel". They have several trainings in a firm and have subjects in the relationship with a job. They study to get a job after obtaining their diploma. They also can study to a college to get a "Baccalauréat Supérieur Technologique", a Technological university (IUT) or to the university if they wish to study further.

About the "baccalauréat technologique", students don't have professional trainings, however they learnt in this route to get a job when holding their "baccalauréat technologique", they can follow studies Graduate studies.

If you prefer to watch the video, click on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3KPNoJFdo