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May 30, 2024

Bac 2024: French, philosophy, grand oral… Here is the calendar of general bac exams

The 2024 general baccalaureate exams will traditionally begin with philosophy on June 18. The baccalaureate results will be posted in July.

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May 28, 2024

The 'batxibac' or 'bachibac', a bachelor's degree that is on the rise: it gives a double degree that allows you to study in more universities

Thanks to an agreement between the Government of Spain and France, there is a bachelor's degree that combines degrees from both countries and is fashionable in Catalonia.

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May 15, 2023

France's general and technological baccalaureate: start of the specialty teaching tests

The written special education tests (EDS) for the 2023 baccalaureate are held on March 20, 21 and 22, 2023 in mainland France and overseas and since March 13, 2023 in Polynesia and in the French education network at the abroad (AEFE).

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Apr 3, 2023

France Baccalaureate 2023 and its challenges: teachers' strike, blockages of high schools, pension reform strike

The 2023 baccalaureate specialty exams began late March and the good performance of exams is threatened by the movement against pension reform. Between delays, strikes and exceptional measures, many disruptions are to be expected.

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Mar 28, 2023

The double challenge of the France Baccalaureate specialty tests

The 2023 baccalaureate specialty exams are held for the first time in March: from 20 to 22. With their high coefficient, the latter gain weight in the course of candidates. They will be taken into account by the Parcoursup post-baccalaureate admission platform.

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Mar 22, 2023

France Baccalaureate 2023: the specialty tests will focus on a "tightened" program

The 2023 baccalaureate specialty tests will be organized in March, over a period from 20 to 22 and on a tight part of the program. Thus, they can be taken into account in Parcoursup.

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Mar 22, 2023

Bac 2023: written tests, grand oral, and the dates to remember

Unprecedented fact, the 2023 edition of the baccalaureate began in March, as initially planned by the reform. On the program for students in the general and technological streams: the two specialty tests, taken into account for the first time in Parcoursup. Candidates will then tackle the rest of their writing as well as their major oral in June, before the results - and any remedial work - in early July.

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Mar 20, 2023

The Global Convention on Higher Education enters into force: A new era for students worldwide begins

The Global Convention on Higher Education is officially in force as of 5 March 2023, following the 20th ratification on 5 December 2022. The world's first worldwide treaty on higher education is now a reality, and it's set to revolutionize the way we approach mobility and access in higher education.

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Jul 6, 2022

France Bac 2022: correctors claim that certain grades have been increased without their agreement

This concerns the specialty tests for the month of May. The teachers' and inspectors' unions alerted the Ministry of National Education. They denounce a breach of trust.

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Jun 28, 2022

France's Baccalaureate 2022: what are the dates of the tests?

The first exams for the 2022 baccalaureate are approaching and will once again have to be organized taking into account the Covid-19 epidemic.

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Apr 12, 2022

Why France’s March baccalauréat exams are being pushed back to May

Two weeks after an unprecedented mobilization involving teachers and parents of students and less than a hundred days before the presidential election, Jean-Michel Blanquer is playing the appeasement card.

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Mar 29, 2022

Many European Universities Are Helping Ukrainian Students – Here’s How

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused about 780 fatalities for less than 30 days, about 3.1 million people were forced to flee their home country, leave their loved ones and give up jobs and studies to seek international protection in European countries.

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Aug 9, 2021

Macron scraps French leaders' elite training school

French President Emmanuel Macron has officially announced the closure of the École Nationale d’Administration, or ENA, the elite grande école that has trained France’s high-ranking civil servants and many of its political and business leaders for nearly three-quarters of a century. It will be replaced by a more socially diverse institution.

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Aug 5, 2021

Reform of the PACES - the students of medicine fear "of being a sacrificed generation"

Since the start of the September academic year, the reform of the PACES has applied to all French universities. The major challenge: to abolish the numerus clausus applied until then. The number of students who can access the second year is now set by the universities themselves according to their capacity. The process is modified, but the principle of selection after the first year remains valid.

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Jun 17, 2021

BTS 2021: lawsuit dismissed, exams will take place

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected this the appeal filed the day before by angry student groups who requested the cancellation of their writings in favor of continuous monitoring . The 185,000 students who apply for the higher technician's certificate (BTS) will therefore have to validate their diploma by visiting their examination centers.

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Jun 10, 2021

BTS 2021: the dates of the exams and results

The BTS exam certifies a very professional and specialized training over two years. The BTS exam consists of written and oral tests, very diverse according to the specialties chosen by the students.

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Jun 9, 2021

Examinations organized remotely or postponed during confinement

All exams organized by higher education establishments must be carried out remotely or be postponed, specifies the Ministry of Higher Education. The entrance exams to the grandes écoles remain in place.

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Jun 8, 2021

Half-gauges in high schools: towards a two-tier baccalaureate?

High school students from the 16 confined departments now have all classes in half-gauges. Some fear that this year of health crisis will be one of inequalities for candidates for the bac.

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Jun 2, 2021

Baccalaureate 2021: new arrangements

To take into account the impact of the health crisis on the conditions of preparation for the general, technological and professional baccalaureate, several adaptations of its tests have been decided. However, their dates are maintained. The Ministry of National Education detailed these new arrangements.

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May 24, 2021

"Imaginécole" an educational platform for 6.6 million French-speaking students in Africa

To strengthen education systems in the face of the Covid pandemic, the education ministers of 10 West and Central African countries (Benin, Togo, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cameroon and Chad) gathered this Thursday to launch Imaginécole, a new collaborative online learning platform. A system piloted in particular by France.

Learn more »

ARCHIVED COUNTRY STUDY: (PDF)

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France

Overview

Education

All educational programs in France are regulated by the Ministère de lʼEnseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de lʼInnovation. As civil servants, teachers in public primary and secondary schools are employed by the Ministry, making it the largest employer in France. University faculty members are also employed by the government.

The curricula for the primary and secondary levels of education is uniform throughout the country for each grade in public and semi-public (subsidized) schools. However, there are specialized sections and options from which students may choose. Educators in France follow the reference Bulletin officiel de l'education national, de l'enseignement superieur et de la recherche (B.O.) which lists all teaching programs and directives.

France is divided into 35 territories called académies, 26 located in continental France and 9 in overseas territories. The Recteur (Rector) of the academy manages personnel and budgets pertaining to education for the territory and serves as a link between the academy and the Ministry in Paris. Each academy also manages the implementation of national curriculum and regulations of the Ministry.

The school calendar is standardized throughout mainland France by the Ministry of National Education, with the school year beginning in early September and ending in Early July. In overseas departments and territories, the school calendar is set by the local Rector.

Primary Education

Mandatory education in France begins at age 6, the first year of primary school. Many students begin school earlier around age 2 in pre-maternelle (pre-school) classes or ages 3-5 in maternelle (kindergarten). In the final year of maternelle, students begin to study reading. French primary school students usually have one or two teachers for all of the subjects they study in a given year. Primary school lasts for 5 years, ages 6-11.

Secondary Education

Secondary education in France is divided into two levels, collège, which lasts four years following primary school, and lycée, lasting three years after collège.

The grades are designated as follows:

Collège
AgeGradeNumeric Grade
11Sixième6e
12Cinquième5e
13Quatrième4e
14Troisième3e

 

Lycée

 

AgeGradeNumeric Grade
15Seconde2e
16Première1e
17TerminaleTerm or Tle

Completion of university preparatory secondary education leads to the Baccalaureat de l'enseignement du second degre, which is comparable to a U.S. high school diploma. Students take their exams in a series or subject stream of the Baccalaureat général which concentrates on the subject specialization of the high school program the student followed: science stream (S), literary stream (L), or economic & social (ES).

The Baccalaureat technologique programs prepare students for further studies in science, technology, music, dance, or hotel management. There are 8 streams:

  1. STT: sciences et technologies tertiaires (tertiary science & technology)
  2. STI: sciences et technologies industrielles (industrial science & technology)
  3. STL: sciences et technologies de laboratoire (lab science & technology)
  4. SMS: sciences et techniques medico-sociales (medical-social science / techniques)
  5. STPA: sciences et technologies du produit agroalimentaire (agriculture/food sciences & technology)
  6. STAE: sciences et technologies d’agronomie et de l’environment (agronomy & environment science & technology)
  7. TMD: techniques de la musique et de la danse (techniques of music & dance)
  8. HM: hôtellerie (hotel management)

The Brevet de Technicien is awarded upon completion of technical programs in such fields as agriculture, manufacturing, or industrial studies and gives access to non-university technical high educational programs such as the Brevetde Technicien Supérieur.

Students who do not complete the Bac général, Bac technologique, or Brevet de Technicien may end their schooling one year early, after La classe de première, and are awarded either the CAP or BEP (Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) or Brevet d'Etudes Professionnelles (BEP).) The CAP or BEP are awarded to students who have following a specific stream of study preparing them for various professions (commercial, industrial, service).

In the vocational/technical secondary track, following the CAP or BEP, students may choose from numerous programs for additional training in technical, industrial, or artistic fields:

Post-Secondary Education

Academic

Admission to the first cycle of higher education in France requires the Baccalauréat. Until the BolognaAgreement, the first cycle was 2 years in length and lead to the Diplôme d'Etudes Universitaires Generales. Admission to the second cycle (Licence and Maîtrise programs) required the DEUG, which was awarded upon completion of general education and an introduction to the major field of study for the Licence and Maîtrise. This system has been replaced with the Licence-Mastere- Doctorat (LMD) sequence of degrees, with the Licence awarded upon completion of 3 years of study beyond the Baccalauréat, the Mastere awarded 2 years after the Licence, and the Doctorat awarded at least 2 years following the Master's degree (program lengths vary).

Each French university offers a field of subject specialization unique to that institution. With multiple universities in each major city there may be 1 institution specializing in science, 1 for humanities, 1 for engineering, and others for additional specialized higher education programs. Public universities are named after the city in which they were founded, such as Université de Paris I, V, XIII.

The Grandes Écoles are higher education institutions outside the French university system. They are usually focused on 1 subject specialization, such as engineering or business, and are highly selective in the admission of students. The classes preparatoires aux grandes écoles are classes which prepare students for admission into the specific grande école subject specialization. Classes preparatoires usually require 2 years of study and may be offered in a high school or at the Grande école. These classes are considered postsecondary in level, regardless of where they are held. Upon completion of the classes preparatoires, the student takes a concours (entrance examination) for admission to the grande école.

Technical

Short-term higher technical studies are offered through the following three types of institutions:

  1. Instituts Universitaires de Technologie (IUT): IUTs are connected to the universities and prepare students for the workforce or further higher education. The credentials awarded include:
    • Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) after a two-year program
    • Diplôme National de Technologie Specialisee (DNTS) after a 1-year program which requires the DUT or BTS for admission. Program includes 4 months of study and 8 months in industry)
  2. Lycées: The credentials awarded include:
  3. Universities: The credentials awarded include:

THE CONTRIBUTORS

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