How to get the French baccalauréat

The Lycée

A lycée (headed by a proviseur) is roughly equivalent to a sixth form college in the UK and similar in standard to a grammar or high school (but higher than a US high school or two-year college).
It provides an excellent education that’s equal to that of any school system in the world. It’s the aim of all ambitious students to attend a lycée, and competition for places is fierce.
There are fewer lycées than collèges and consequently there’s less choice. In rural areas, lycées take students from a wide area and, because of the travelling distances involved, many offer boarding from Mondays to Fridays.
At a lycée, students are treated more like university students and aren’t required to remain in school if they don’t have a lesson. However, the informal, often casual, air contrasts with the constant pressure of monthly tests (interrogation) and the writing of formal dissertations in most subjects. It goes without saying that, unless a student is prepared to work hard, it’s a waste of time attending a lycée. There are two types of lycée, described below.
Some lycées offer boarding (internat) for four nights per week (Mondays to Thursdays); a few accept boarders (internes) on Sunday nights. Sports and social activities, as well as supervised homework periods, are generally organised in the evenings. Most internats are single-sex, but it may be possible for children of the other sex to rent a room nearby and dine at the school as well as taking part in evening activities – in which case they’re known as internes externés! Costs are reasonable: around €2,500 per year for an interne and somewhat less for an interne externé.
General & Technology Lycée ( Lycée d’Enseignement Général et Technologique): A general and technology lycée prepares students for the general or technology baccalauréat or the technical certificate (brevet de technicien/BT). There are also professional lycées (Lycées Professionnels/LP) and Centres de Formation d’Apprentis (CFA) offering courses leading to vocational certificates.

Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat (commonly called the bac) is taken at a lycée at the age of 17 or 18 and is an automatic entrance qualification to a French university. Those who pass are known as bacheliers. There are over 30 baccalauréats to choose from, but three main groups, as follows:
• General baccalauréat – The general bac is an academic diploma and prepares students for higher education rather than for a trade or profession. It enables students to continue their studies at university, in preparatory classes for a grande école (see below), in a higher technicians’ section (STS), in a university institute of technology or in specialised schools. There are three main types of general bac: literature and classics; science; economic and social sciences.
• Technology baccalauréat – This is awarded for both general knowledge and training in modern technologies. It’s the first stage of higher technical training, usually at a university institute of technology or STS, and occasionally at a university or grande école. There are eight types of technology bac: industrial; science and technology; laboratory science; medical and social science; agriculture; environment; hotel and catering; music and dance.
AdviseStudents must pass the baccalauréat and a competitive examination, or pass the baccalauréat, provide a school record and attend an interview with an examining board. The selection system applies to institutes of technology (IUT), institutes of political studies (IEP), and post- baccalauréat establishments preparing students for the BTS or for entry to a grande école preparatory school (see below).

The courses taken during a student’s final two years at a lycée depend on the type of baccalauréat selected. There are seven major subjects in the first form and eight in terminale. The baccalauréat is taken in two parts, the first of which consists of an examination in French language and literature (baccalauréat de français) taken in the first form. This must be passed before any other exams can be taken. The second part of the bac is taken in terminale. Students who fail the bac can retake it the following year.

The French baccalauréat examination

The French Baccalauréa examination is marked out of 20, as are all French exams. An average of 10 is a pass, 12/13 is quite good (mention assez bien), 14/15 is good (mention bien) and 16 and over is very good (mention très bien). Note, however, that not all subjects are regarded as equal, and some are ‘weighted’ in accordance with the type of bac according to a complex system of ‘coefficients’ (coefficient), although French is usually given high priority.

- European universities and most US colleges recognise the French baccalauréat as an entrance qualification, although foreign students must provide proof of their English language ability to study in the UK or the US. A US university may grant credits to a bachelier allowing him to graduate in three years instead of four. The international baccalaureate option (option internationale du baccalauréat/OIB) and international baccalaureate (IB) examinations are offered by some international lycées in France (and lycées with international sections).
Grandes Écoles Preparatory School
Grandes écoles preparatory schools (classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles/CPGE or prépa for short) are the first step for anyone with ambitions to attend a grande école, France’s elite higher education institutions. Admission to a prépa is based on a student’s grades in his first and final (première et terminale) years at lycée and the subjects chosen.

Applications must be made by the end of april/beggining of may, i.e. before actually sitting the baccalauréat, with provisional selection based on school reports for the final year of lycée and teachers’ reports. Successful students spend two years (one in the case of veterinary students) in a CPGE, which is generally an integral part of a lycée, although it may be housed within a grande école. Entrance to a prépa constitutes a first selection procedure, before the competitive examination (concours) for the grande école, taken at the end of the two-year period. This exam has a failure rate of around 90 per cent!
- Students who fail the entrance examination may be permitted to remain at a preparatory school for another year and retake the exam if their grades are high enough. If they fail again they must change track, which for most students means going to a university. However, even partial success in one of the CPGE examinations can bring exemption from all or part of the diplôme d’études universitaires générales (DEUG), the examination taken at the end of the second year of university

Choosing a Private School in France
The following checklist is designed to help you choose an appropriate private school:
• Does the school have a good reputation ?
• How long has it been established ?
• Does the school have a good academic record ?
• For example, what percentage of students obtain good examination passes and go on to top universities ? All the best schools provide exam pass-rate statistics.
• What does the curriculum include ?
• What examinations are set ?
• Are examinations recognised both in France and internationally ?
• Do they fit in with your future education plans?
Ask to see a typical student timetable to check the ratio of academic to non-academic subjects.
Check the number of free study periods and whether they’re supervised.
• How large are the classes and what is the student/teacher ratio ?
• Does the stated class size tally with the number of desks in the classrooms ?
• What are the qualification requirements for teachers ?
• What nationalities are the majority of teachers ?
•Ask for a list of the teaching staff and their qualifications.
• What are the classrooms like ?
For example their size, space, cleanliness, lighting, furniture and furnishings.• Are there signs of creative teaching, e.g. wall charts, maps, posters and students’ work on display ?
• What is the teacher turnover?
A high teacher turnover is a particularly bad sign and usually suggests badly paid teachers with poor working conditions.
• What extras must you pay? For example, lunches, art sup¬plies, sports equipment, outings, clothing, health and accident insurance, textbooks and stationery. Some schools charge parents for absolutely everything.
• Which countries do most students come from ?
• Is religion an important consideration in your choice of school ?
• Are intensive English or French lessons provided for children who don’t meet the required standard ?
• What is the quality and variety of food provided ?
• What is the dining room like ?
•Does the school have a dietician ?
• What languages does the school teach as obligatory or optional subjects ?
• What is the student turnover ?
• What are the school terms and holiday periods ?
Private school holidays are usually longer than state school holidays (e.g. four weeks at Easter and Christmas and ten weeks in the summer) and they often don’t coincide with state school holiday periods.
• If you’re considering a day school, what are the school hours ?
• Is transport provided to and from school ?
• What are the withdrawal conditions, should you need or wish to remove your child ? A term’s notice is usual.
• What sports instruction and facilities are provided ?
• Where are the sports facilities ?
• What are the facilities for arts and science subjects, e.g. arts and crafts, music, computer studies, biology, science, hobbies, drama, cookery and photography ?
Ask to see the classrooms, facilities, equipment and some student projects.
• What sort of outings are organised ?
• What medical facilities does the school provide, e.g. infirmary, resident doctor or nurse ?
• What punishments are applied and for what sorts of offence ?
• What reports are provided for parents and how often ?

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Lycee, baccalaureat, high school, academic degrees, france diplomas

The Lycée

Baccalauréat

The French baccalauréat examination

Grandes Écoles Preparatory School

Choosing a Private School in France