Mum of two and an expat in France, Sarah Daly examines the varied education choices accessible in France and what to anticipate on your little one on this information to French faculties and schooling for expats.
Do your homework
In case you’re shifting to France with a child, younger kids and even youngsters, you’ll most likely wish to perceive the college system right here. So how does it work, what’s it like and the way do you enrol and help your little one in direction of their schooling?
Training is obligatory in France for youngsters aged between three and 16 years of age. Colleges could be public or non-public and, underneath sure circumstances, there may be the potential of home-schooling. Some mother and father shifting to France might select a world faculty for his or her kids or youngsters, with classes taught partly in English, typically following a UK or American curriculum.
We moved to France with kids aged 14 and 11 in 2018. We wished them to study French, so selected to enrol them each in our native center faculty (collège). It was a baptism of fireplace for them each: our eldest spoke affordable French (for a British faculty child) and our youngest knew numbers and hues and the French phrase for platypus (ornithorynque in case you had been questioning). It seems that none of this was satisfactory preparation. The hours had been lengthy, the lecturers exacting and the youngsters ranged (as they do in all places) from form and caring, to wanting to pounce on any signal of weak point. Regardless of this, they each made buddies and studied onerous. Our eldest is because of graduate from the Sorbonne with a linguistics diploma in the summertime (2026) and the youngest has simply began an structure diploma in Paris.
In case you enrol your kids in a French faculty, you might properly discover that workers will provide help to organise additional French courses for them. Our children’ center faculty organized français langue seconde (FLS) at a close-by faculty, so it’s undoubtedly value asking about this while you first make contact.
Information to French faculties and schooling for expats
Finishing the paperwork
Your first port of name when you’re enrolling a number of kids at school must be your native mairie (city corridor) or, for older kids, you possibly can strategy the college immediately. The city corridor will clarify which faculty/s you possibly can apply to and learn how to go about it. You might be requested for a livret de famille. In case you don’t have one, you possibly can apply on the city corridor or, for older kids or latest arrivals, your little one’s beginning certificates, proof of handle, proof of identification and a wedding certificates or equal for fogeys is often sufficient.
Get coated
Colleges at any degree will ask for proof that your little one is vaccinated earlier than they be part of. Seek the advice of your physician in France as early as you possibly can to search out out what’s required and the way this correlates to vaccinations in your house nation, as there could also be gaps to fill. You might also be requested for proof of particular faculty insurance coverage. That is often normal as a part of your private home insurance coverage so, if unsure, examine together with your insurer.
State faculties are all the time secular however non-public faculties could be non secular.
State education is free, however non-public and worldwide faculties should not often an costly choice. About 12 per cent of highschool college students board, and meals and lodging often price lower than €2,000/pa. You may home-school, however that is more and more tough to get authorized. Non-state authorized non-public faculties are costlier, with extra flexibility over timetables.
Faculty consumption relies on the calendar 12 months and never the college 12 months.
Retaking a 12 months is frequent, significantly at main faculty degree and, it’s value discussing with a brand new faculty which degree you – and so they – assume would fit your little one greatest. Our eldest was born in November, so dropping a college 12 months put him at an equal degree to his UK education and prevented him from successfully skipping a 12 months.
Faculty holidays are lengthy and financial institution holidays can fall on any day of the week.
Faculty holidays in France fall into three totally different zones. Pupils get two weeks off in October, over Christmas, in February and in spring. Whitsun half time period doesn’t exist, however there’s a four-day weekend in late Could. Financial institution holidays fall on a selected date, such because the 1st Could or 1st November and never on the closest Monday, as is often the case within the UK.
Faculty finishes for summer time in early July.
Pupils who don’t have exams, nevertheless, will typically cease entering into after the college council, in early June. This council, or conseil de classe occurs 3 times a 12 months and is made up of lecturers and sophistication representatives. Progress for the college report is mentioned and it’s essential on the finish of center faculty, serving to to find out the place the pupil will go on to highschool.
Faculty days are lengthy, however timetables can differ.
Faculty usually begins at 8.30am and may end at 5pm or 5.30pm, however Wednesdays are free for main faculty kids, whereas Wednesday afternoons are often free in center faculty and the decrease years of highschool. Timetabling might imply that classes begin later or end earlier on some days too.
Faculty transport is accessible
Significantly in rural areas, it is not uncommon for youngsters to take the bus to high school. The price of this varies in keeping with the place you reside and the size of the journey, however it’s typically free, as is the case in Hauts-de-France the place we reside or monetary assist is accessible. Generally the journeys could be lengthy, even requiring a change of bus for some pupils.
Averages are sometimes every little thing.
In main faculty, pupils are evaluated on French and Maths, whereas in center faculty and highschool your little one will take common exams in lots of topics and be given a mark out of 20. That is the typical. Above 10 means they’re prone to go their exams and beneath means they could not. As a mother or father or pupil, you possibly can often connect with an app that lets you see grades and entry faculty experiences. That is additionally utilized by the college to speak with mother and father.
Examine intervals are frequent from center faculty on.
Absent lecturers are sometimes not changed and free intervals (whether or not deliberate or not) at center faculty are spent in a supervised examine session known as permanence. This can be utilized for devoir maison (graded homework – count on lots of this, no matter age your little one is) or to check for devoirs surveillés or évaluations (classroom exams). In lycée free intervals aren’t supervised, however area for personal examine is commonly accessible.
Strict self-discipline typically applies within the classroom.
Good behaviour is anticipated, reward just isn’t the norm and, in lots of classes, kids will study by rote, even at highschool. Our eldest was inspired to assume critically in his UK secondary faculty and located this distinction marked. The curriculum taught is broad, with a give attention to language studying and, at highschool, philosophy types an essential a part of the core curriculum, together with French, maths, science, languages, geography, historical past and sport.
Three course faculty dinners
Lunch is the primary meal of the day in France and it’s taken severely at college. It’s often a three-course meal with a starter, bread, fundamental, cheese and dessert. Provision for particular diets varies, however your little one can often take their very own lunch by association.
All kinds of topics
In center faculty, pupils select between totally different trendy languages and may add Latin, further English or different choices. Past that, all college students take the identical topics for the brevet, often when they’re 15 and education is obligatory till 16. Roughly two-thirds of pupils then observe the three-year génerale et technologique curriculum at highschool, selecting educational specialisms inside that. A 3rd will select a Bac professional skilled course and people who don’t go on to highschool might select a formation or different vocational course, an apprenticeship or army service. After center faculty, there may be often no artwork or music instructing except your little one has chosen to concentrate on these, typically by selecting a extra arts focussed highschool.
Be a part of the category
École maternelle (preschool) or jardin d’enfants (kindergarten)
Preschool in France is compulsory for youngsters aged between three and 6 years, though some faculties take kids youthful than three relying on their readiness and the supply of locations. The principle distinction between this and kindergarten, is that the latter will routinely take youthful kids. Each provide a preparation for main schooling and could be state-run or non-public. To enroll your little one in your native preschool (or to search out out the place it’s), it is best to contact your native mairie (city corridor). Your little one will nearly all the time begin at college within the September of the calendar 12 months during which they flip three, and it is best to full the paperwork by June of that 12 months on the newest. If you wish to select a special preschool, you continue to want to begin by contacting your city corridor. The degrees of preschool are often called petite part, moyenne part and grande part.
École élémentaire or école primaire (main or elementary faculty)
Major faculty in France is obligatory for youngsters from six years and the college week is fastened at 24 hours. The curriculum is targeted on instruments and strategies of studying, language for thought and communication, private growth and citizenship, pure and technical techniques and representations of the world and human exercise. Pupils examine French and maths, a dwelling language (typically English) artwork, music and bodily schooling, in addition to ethical and civic responsibility.
Ranges of main faculty are divided into cours preparatoire (one 12 months), cours élémentaire (two years) and cours moyen (two years). These are abbreviated as CP, CE1, CE2, CM1 and CM2. Pupils in any respect ranges can be evaluated on French and maths particularly and also you’ll most likely discover the college makes use of a digital platform to speak progress with mother and father.
Collège (center faculty)
Most youngsters begin center faculty in France within the 12 months that they flip 11 and they’re going to depart at aged 15 after taking le diplôme nationwide du brevet. This contains an oral presentation, which could be executed in English with questions in French, and written exams which check understanding of the curriculum extra broadly. Kids will begin in sixième (6th grade), transfer to cinquième (5th grade) and quatrième (4th grade) and the ultimate 12 months is troisième (3rd grade).
Lycée (highschool)
Pupils will select their highschool, or different, within the final 12 months of center faculty, and can get some assist to decide, though lots of the onus is on the pupil and fogeys to analysis this and apply. Most pupils will transfer to an area highschool to proceed an instructional schooling, however many will select a extra specialised faculty, both for its worldwide curriculum, emphasis on sport or on inventive or skilled topics. There could also be an interview or check as a part of the applying course of on this case, however this varies in keeping with the institution.
Highschool pupils will begin in seconde (2nd grade) and select three choices to concentrate on for première (1st grade). On the finish of this 12 months, they are going to sit the baccalauréat français, which consists of an oral presentation and a written examination, mixed with steady analysis. They focus research additional in terminale (ultimate grade) earlier than sitting the baccalauréat géneral. This contains an oral presentation (often called le grand oral), a philosophy examination and exams of their chosen specialisms.
Alternate options to highschool embody finding out for a baccalauréat professionnel (bac professional) which provides a basis of common schooling with skilled coaching and sensible programs in particular areas, a certificat d’aptitude professionelle (CAP) which is focussed on a particular occupation, or an apprenticeship.
Additional analysis
There’s a temporary overview of the system accessible in English on the official authorities schooling web site www.schooling.gouv.fr This additionally has detailed data on each step of the method of education in France accessible in French.
Sarah Daly is a contract author who lives within the far north of France.
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