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Education in France is organized in a highly centralized manner, with many subdivisions. It is divided into the three stages of primary education (''enseignement primaire''), secondary education (''enseignement secondaire''), and higher education (''enseignement supérieur''). The main age that a child starts school in France is age 2. Two year olds do not start primary school, they start preschool. Then, by the age of six, a child in France starts primary school and soon moves onto higher and higher grade levels until they graduate. In French higher education, the following degrees are recognized by the Bologna Process (EU recognition): ''Licence'' and ''Licence Professionnelle'' (bachelor's degrees), and the comparably named ''Master'' and ''Doctorat'' degrees. The
Programme for International Student Assessment The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-yea ...
coordinated by the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
in 2018 ranked the overall knowledge and skills of French 15-year-olds as 26th in the world in reading literacy, mathematics, and science, below the OECD average of 493.https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf The average
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
performance of French 15-year-olds in science and mathematics has declined, with the share of low performers in reading, mathematics and science developing a sharp upward trend. France's share of top performers in mathematics and science has also declined. France's performance in mathematics and science at the middle school level was ranked 23 in the 1995 Trends in International Math and Science Study. In 2019, France ranked 21 in the TIMSS Science general ranking.


History

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
began the French university and secondary educational systems. Guizot started the elementary system. Intense battles took place over whether the Catholic Church should play a dominant role. The modern era of French education begins at the end of the 19th century.
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He ...
, a Minister of Public Instruction in 1841, is widely credited for creating the modern school (''l'école républicaine'') by requiring all children between the ages of 6 and 12, both boys and girls, to attend. He also made public instruction mandatory,
free of charge The English language, English adjective ''free'' is commonly used in one of two meanings: "at no monetary cost" (''gratis'') and "with little or no restriction" (''libre''). This ambiguity of ''free'' can cause issues where the distinction i ...
, and
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
('' laïque''). With those laws, known as French Lubbers,
Jules Ferry laws The Jules Ferry Laws are a set of French laws which established free education in 1881, then mandatory and ''laic'' (secular) education in 1882. Jules Ferry, a lawyer holding the office of Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is widely c ...
, and several others, the Third Republic repealed most of the
Falloux Laws The Falloux Laws promoted Catholic schools in France in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. They were voted in during the French Second Republic and promulgated on 15 March 1850 and in 1851, following the presidential election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ...
of 1850–1851, which gave an important role to the clergy. The French curriculum predominantly emphasized the works of French writers of European descent. Ferry and others considered literature the glue of French identity. The ethnic and cultural demographics of the student body did not factor in to the quest to transmit a "common culture" to the students. Like literature, history education is seen as critical to shaping the identity of young people and the integration of immigrants to French identity. Ferry's views continue to exert influence today. Ministry reports have confirmed that the rule of schools in promoting "common culture" is only made more critical by the rising levels of student diversity. According to the ministry, history education in France has, over the course of one century made possible "the integration of children of Italians, Poles, Africans and Portuguese".


Governance

All educational programmes in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
are regulated by the Ministry of National Education (officially called ''Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de la Jeunesse et de la Vie associative''). The head of the ministry is the Minister of National Education. All teachers in public primary and secondary schools are state
civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, making the ''ministère'' the largest employer in the country.
Professors Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
and
researchers Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
in France's universities are also employed by the state. At the primary and secondary levels, the
curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
is the same for all French students in any given grade, which includes public, semi-public and subsidised institutions. However, there exist specialised sections and a variety of options that students can choose. The reference for all French educators is the ''Bulletin officiel de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (B.O.)'', which lists all current programmes and teaching directives. It is amended many times every year. Schooling in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
is not mandatory (although instruction is). Since French law mandates only ''education'', and not necessarily attendance at a school, families may provide teaching themselves, provided that they comply with the educational standards laid down in law and monitored by the State.


School year

In
Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
, the school year runs from early September to early July. The school calendar is standardized throughout the country and is the sole domain of the ministry.Marie Duru-Bellat, "France: permanence and change." in Yan Wang, ed. '' Education policy reform trends in G20 members'' (Springer, 2013) pp. 19-32. In May, schools need time to organize exams (for example, the
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
). Outside Metropolitan France, the school calendar is set by the local ''recteur''. Major holiday breaks are as follows: * All Saints (''la Toussaint''), two weeks (since 2012) around the end of October and the beginning of November; *
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
(''Noël''), two weeks around
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
and
New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
; *winter (''hiver''), two weeks starting in mid-February; *spring (''printemps'') or
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
(''Pâques''), two weeks starting in mid April; *summer (''été''), two months starting in early July. (mid-June for high school students).


Primary school

Most parents start sending their children to preschool (''maternelle'') when they turn 3. Some even start earlier at age 2 in ''toute petite section'' ("''TPS''"). The first two years of preschool (TPS and ''petite section'' "''PS''") are introductions to community living; children learn how to become students and are introduced to their first notions of arithmetic, begin to recognize letters, develop oral language, etc. The last two years of preschool, ''moyenne section'' and ''grande section,'' are more school-like; pupils are introduced to
reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, writing and more mathematics. A preschool can have its own school zone (mostly true in towns) or be affiliated to an elementary school (mostly in villages). As in other educational systems, French primary school students usually have a single teacher (or two) who teaches the complete curriculum. After kindergarten, the young students move on to the ''école élémentaire'' (elementary school). In the first 3 years of elementary school, they learn to write, develop their reading skills and get some basics in subjects such as
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and the arts, to name a few. Note that the French word for a teacher at the primary school level is ''professeur'' or ''professeure des écoles'' (previously called ''instituteur'', or its feminine form ''institutrice''). Children stay in elementary school for 5 years until they are 10–11 years-old. The grades are named: CP (''cours préparatoire''), CE1 (''cours élémentaire 1''), CE2 (''cours élémentaire 2''), CM1 (''cours moyen 1'') and CM2 (''cours moyen 2'').


Middle school and high school

The compulsory middle and high school subjects cover French Language and Literature, History and Geography, Foreign Language, Arts and Crafts, Musical Education, Civics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Technology, and PE. The curriculum is set by the Ministry of National Education and applies to most collèges in France and also for AEFE-dependent institutions. Académies and individual schools have little freedom in the state curriculum. Class sizes vary from school to school, but usually range from 20 to 35 pupils. After primary school, two
educational stage Educational stages are subdivisions of formal learning, typically covering early childhood education, primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) re ...
s follow: *''collège'' (
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
), for children during their first four years of
secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
from the age of 11 to 14. * ''lycée (''
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
), which provides a three-year course of further secondary education for children between the ages of 15 and 18. Pupils are prepared for the ''
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
'' (baccalaureate, colloquially known as ''le bac'') or the CAP (Ce''rtificat d'aptitude professionnelle''). The ''baccalauréat'' can lead to higher education studies or directly to professional life (there are three main types of ''baccalauréat'': the ''baccalauréat général'', the ''baccalauréat technologique'', and the ''baccalauréat professionnel)''. * ''CFA (centre de formation des apprentis'', apprentice learning center), which provides vocational degrees: le ''Certificat d'aptitude professionnelle''.


Private schools

Primary and secondary private schools in France are divided into two categories: *''Private schools under contract with the State'' are private institutions at every level; nevertheless, pupils at these schools study the same national curriculum as those in public schools. Teachers in private schools are recruited in the same way and have roughly the same status as their equivalents in public schools. They are also employed directly by the State, but they are not permanently assigned and may not return to a public school position. The great majority of private schools in France are under contract. *''Private schools without contract'' employ their teachers directly and may teach their own curriculum; the State, however, still monitors their educational standards. Most of these schools provide religious instruction.


International education

As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC) listed France as having 105 international schools. ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms: "ISC includes an international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other than the country’s national curriculum and is international in its orientation." That definition is used by publications including
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
. France has its own international school regulator, the
AEFE The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...
(Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger).


Higher education

Higher education in France is organized in three levels, which correspond to those of other European countries, facilitating international mobility: the ''Licence'' and ''Licence Professionnelle'' (
bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...
), and the
Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
and
Doctorat A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
degrees. The Licence and the Master are organized in semesters: 6 for the Licence and 4 for the Master. Those levels of study include various "parcours" or paths based on UE (Unités d'enseignement or Modules), each worth a defined number of European credits (ECTS). A student accumulates those credits, which are generally transferable between paths. A licence is awarded once 180 ECTS have been obtained; a master is awarded once 120 additional credits have been obtained.Ben-David, Joseph and Philip G. Altbach. eds. ''Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Germany, United States'' (2nd ed. 2017). Licence and master's degrees are offered within specific ''domaines'' and carry a specific ''mention''. ''Spécialités'', which are either research-oriented or professionally oriented during the second year of the Master. There are also professional licences whose objective is immediate job integration. It is possible to return to school later by continuing education or to validate professional experience (through VAE, Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience). Higher education in France is divided between
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
and public universities. The grandes écoles admit the graduates of the level
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
+ 2 years of validated study (or sometimes directly after the
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
) whereas universities admit all graduates of the
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
. Higher education in France was reshaped by the student revolts of
May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) *CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. *RAF Strike Co ...
. During the 1960s, French public universities responded to a massive explosion in the number of students (280,000 in 1962-63 to 500,000 in 1967-68) by stuffing approximately one-third of their students into hastily developed campus annexes (roughly equivalent to American
satellite campus A satellite campus or branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or countr ...
es) which lacked decent amenities, resident professors, academic traditions, or the dignity of university status. With so many students ripe for radicalization after being forced to study in such miserable conditions, change was necessary and inevitable. Rather than expand already-overwhelmed parent campuses, it was decided to split off the annexes as new universities. This is why a striking trait of French higher education, compared with other countries, is the small size and multiplicity of establishments, each specialised in a more-or-less broad spectrum of areas. A middle-sized French city, such as
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
or Nancy, may have 2 or 3 universities (focused on science, sociological studies, engineering, etc.) as well as a number of other establishments specialised in higher education. In
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and its suburbs, there are currently 11 universities (there were 13 from 1970 to 2017), none of which is specialised in one area or another, plus many smaller institutions that are highly specialised. It is not uncommon for graduate teaching programmes (
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
s, the course part of doctorate programmes etc.) to be operated in common by several institutions, allowing the institutions to present a larger variety of courses. In engineering schools and the professional degrees of universities, a large share of the teaching staff is often made up of non-permanent professors; instead, part-time professors are hired to teach one specific subject. Part-time professors are generally hired from neighbouring universities, research institutes or industries. Another original feature of the French higher education system is that a large share of the scientific research is carried out by research establishments such as
CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
or INSERM, which are not formally part of the universities. However, in most cases, the research units of those establishments are located inside universities (or other higher education establishments) and jointly operated by the research establishment and the university. In 2021, 1.65 million students are enrolled in French higher education institutions (61% in licence, 35% in master, 4% in doctorat).


Tuition costs

Higher education is mostly funded by the State which leads to very low tuition fees. For citizens of the EU, EEA, Switzerland or Quebec, the annual fees range from 170 to 380 euros per year depending on the level (''licence, master, doctorat''). One can therefore get a master's degree (in 5 years) for about €750–3,500. For other international students, these fees range from 2,770 to 3,770 euros. Students from low-income families can apply for scholarships, paying nominal sums for tuition or textbooks, and can receive a monthly stipend of up to €450 per month. The tuition in public engineering schools is comparable to universities but a little higher (around €700). However, it can reach €7,000 a year for private engineering schools. Private business schools typically charge up to €12,000 a year for Bachelor programmes and up to €24,000 for Master programmes, while some elite institutions may charge €40,000 and more. Health insurance for students is free until the age of 20 and so only the costs of living and books must be added. After the age of 20, health insurance for students costs €200 a year and covers most of the medical expenses. Some public schools have other ways of gaining money. Some do not receive funds for class trips and other extra activities and so those schools may ask for a small entrance fee for new students.


Universities in France

The public universities in France are named after the major cities near which they are located, followed by a numeral if there are several. Paris, for example, has 13 universities, labelled Paris I to XIII. Some of them are in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
itself, some in the suburbs. In addition, most of the universities have taken a more informal name that is usually that of a famous person or a particular place. Sometimes, it is also a way to honor a famous alumnus, for example the science university in Strasbourg is known as "Université Louis-Pasteur" while its official name is "Université Strasbourg I" (however, since 2009, the three universities of Strasbourg have been merged). The French system has undergone a reform, the Bologna process, which aims at creating European standards for university studies, most notably a similar time-frame everywhere, with three years devoted to the bachelor's degree ("licence" in French), two for the Master's, and three for the doctorate. French universities have also adopted the ECTS credit system (for example, a licence is worth 180 credits). The traditional curriculum based on end of semester examinations tends to remain in place in some universities. That double standard has added complexity to a system. It is difficult to change a major during undergraduate studies without losing a semester or even a whole year. Students usually also have few course selection options once they enroll in a particular diploma. France also hosts rare
catholic universities Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical uni ...
recognized by the State, the largest one being
Lille Catholic University Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...
, as well branch colleges of foreign universities. They include
Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
, the
University of London Institute in Paris The University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP; ) is a central academic body of the University of London located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is currently the only British university institute in continental Europe. History The in ...
,
Parsons Paris School of Art and Design Paris College of Art, previously called Parsons Paris until 2010, is an international college of art and design with U.S degree-granting authority and accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) located in Par ...
and the
American University of Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to ...
. There are about 4 000 Master programmes offered in the French university system (listed at
trouvermonmaster.gouv.fr trouvermonmaster.gouv.fr is a Web portal that lists all national master's degrees in France, as well as the procedures for applying for them, the number of places available, the selection criteria and the timetable. The site is not designed to col ...
), and 17 000 undergraduate programmes (offered by
Parcoursup Parcoursup is a Web portal designed by both the French Ministry of Education French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects a ...
).


''Grandes écoles''

The ''grandes écoles'' of France are elite higher-education establishments. They are generally focused on a single subject area (e.g.,
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
or
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
), have a small size (typically between 100 and 300 graduates per year), and are highly selective. They are widely regarded as prestigious, and most of France's scientists and executives have graduated from a ''grande école''. National rankings are published every year by various magazines. While the rankings slightly vary from year to year, the top ''grandes écoles'' have been very stable for decades: * science and engineering: Écoles normales supérieures,
École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
,
Mines ParisTech Mines Paris - PSL, officially École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (until May 2022 Mines ParisTech, also known as École des mines de Paris, ENSMP, Mines de Paris, les Mines, or Paris School of Mines), is a French grande école and a c ...
,
Télécom Paris Télécom Paris (also known as ENST or Télécom or École nationale supérieure des télécommunications, also Télécom ParisTech until 2019) is a French public institution for higher education (''grande école'') and engineering research. Loca ...
, ISAE-Supaéro, Ponts Paristech and
CentraleSupélec CentraleSupélec (CS) is a top French graduate engineering school of Paris-Saclay University in Gif-sur-Yvette, France. It was established on 1 January 2015, as a result of a strategic merger between two prestigious grandes écoles in France ...
; * humanities: three Écoles normales supérieures,
École des Chartes École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...
and CELSA – Sorbonne; * business:
HEC Paris HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fi ...
,
NEOMA Business School NEOMA Business School is a French business and management school founded in 2013, following the merger of Reims Management School (founded in 1928) and Rouen Business School (founded in 1871). NEOMA BS offers a wide range of educational progra ...
,
ESSEC Business School The École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (more commonly ESSEC Business School or ESSEC) is a major French business and management school, with non-profit association status (French association law of 1901) founded in 1907 ...
,
ESCP Europe ESCP Business School (french: École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris) is a French business school and ''grande école'' founded in Paris and based across Europe with campuses in Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Turin, and Warsaw. It is consiste ...
,
INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...
, EMLyon,
Audencia Audencia Business School is a French grande école and business school located in Nantes, France. It is one of the only 0.5% of business schools in the world accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), European Quality Improvement System (EQ ...
,
Grenoble École de Management Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) is a French graduate business school (Grande Ecole) renowned for its teaching in innovation and management. The consular institution was founded in 1984 in Grenoble, in the Auvergne-Rhone Alpes region, by the ...
, INSEEC and
EDHEC EDHEC Business School (french: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord) is a French grandes écoles business school with campus locations in: Lille, France; Nice, France; Paris, France; London, UK; and Singapore. EDHEC offers its flagship M ...
; * administration and political sciences:
ENA Ena or ENA may refer to: Education * École nationale d'administration, French Grande école, for civil service * Education Networks of America, Internet service provider Fictional characters * Ena Sharples, from the British soap opera ''Coron ...
and
Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...
.


Preparatory classes (CPGEs)

The
Preparatory classes Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...
(in French "''classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles''" or CPGE), widely known as ''prépas'', is a prep course with the main goal of training students for enrollment in a ''grande école''. Admission to CPGEs is based on performance during the last two years of high school, called ''Première'' and ''Terminale''. Only 5% of a generation is admitted to a ''prépa''. CPGEs are usually located within high schools but pertain to tertiary education, which means that each student must have successfully passed their ''
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
'' (or equivalent) to be admitted to a CPGE. Each CPGE receives applications from hundreds of applicants worldwide every year in April and May, and selects students based on its own criteria. A few CPGEs, mainly the private ones, which account for 10% of CPGEs, also have an interview process or look at a student's involvement in the community. The ratio of CPGE students who fail to enter any ''grande école'' is lower in scientific and business CPGEs than in humanities CPGEs. Some preparatory classes are widely considered "elite", being extremely selective, and recruiting only the best students from each high school, if not the best student from each high school. These schools practically guarantee their students a place in one of the top "
grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
". Among them are the
Lycée Louis-Le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
, the
Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France. The school educates more than ...
, the
Lycée Stanislas In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
and the
Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève The Lycée Sainte-Geneviève is a private ''lycée'', located in Versailles and providing preparatory classes for ''grandes écoles''. It was founded by the Jesuits in Paris in April 1854. It is often nicknamed ''Ginette'' and sometimes ''BJ'', ...
.


Scientific CPGEs

The oldest CPGEs are the scientific ones, which can be accessed only by scientific Bacheliers. Scientific CPGE are called TSI ("Technology and Engineering Science"), MPSI ("Mathematics, Physics and Engineering Science"), PCSI ("Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering Science") or PTSI ("Physics, Technology, and Engineering Science") in the first year, MP ("Mathematics and Physics"), PSI ("Physics and Engineering Science"), PC ("Physics and Chemistry") or PT ("Physics and Technology") in the second year and BCPST ("Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Life and Earth Sciences"). First year CPGE students are called the "Math Sup", or ''Hypotaupe'', (Sup for "Classe de Mathématiques Supérieures", superior in French, meaning post-high school), and second years "Math Spé", or ''Taupe'', (Spés standing for "Classe de Mathématiques Spéciales", special in French). The students of those classes are called ''Taupins''. Both the first and second year programmes include as much as twelve hours of mathematics teaching per week, ten hours of physics, two hours of philosophy, two to four hours of (one or two) foreign languages teaching and four to six hours of options: chemistry, ''SI'' (Engineering Industrial Science) or ''Theoretical Computer Science'' (including some programming using the
Pascal Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...
or
CaML Caml (originally an acronym for Categorical Abstract Machine Language) is a multi-paradigm, general-purpose programming language which is a dialect of the ML programming language family. Caml was developed in France at INRIA and ENS. Caml is ...
programming languages, as a practical work). There are also several hours of
homework Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, Exercise (mathematics), mathematical exercises to b ...
, which can rise as much as the official hours of class. A known joke among those students is that they are becoming moles for two years, sometimes three. That is actually the origin of the nicknames ''taupe'' and ''taupin'' (''taupe'' being the French word for a mole).


Business CPGEs

There are also CPGEs that are focused on economics (who prepare the admission in
business schools A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, or ...
). They are known as ''prépa EC'' (short for ''Economiques et Commerciales'') and are divided into two parts: ''prépa ECS'', which focuses more on mathematics, generally for those who graduated the scientific baccalauréat, and ''prépa ECE'', which focuses more on economics, for those who were in the economics section in high school.


Humanities CPGEs (Hypokhâgne and Khâgne)

The literary and humanities CPGEs have also their own nicknames, ''Hypokhâgne'' for the first year and ''Khâgne'' for the second year. The students are called the ''khâgneux''. Those classes prepare for schools such as the three Écoles normales supérieures, the
École des Chartes École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...
, and sometimes
Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...
. There are two kinds of ''Khâgnes''. The ''Khâgne de Lettres'' is the most common, and focuses on philosophy, French literature, history and languages. The ''Khâgne de Lettres et Sciences Sociales'' (Literature and Social Sciences), otherwise called Khâgne B/L, also includes mathematics and socio-economic sciences in addition to those literary subjects. The students of Hypokhâgne and Khâgne (the humanities CPGE) are simultaneously enrolled in universities, and can go back to university in case of failure or if they feel unable to pass the highly competitive entrance examinations for the '' Écoles normales supérieures''.


Colles

The amount of work required of the students is exceptionally high. In addition to class time and homework, students spend several hours each week completing oral exams called ''colles'' (sometimes written 'khôlles' to look like a Greek word, that way of writing being initially a ''khâgneuxs'' joke since ''khâgneux'' study Ancient Greek). The ''colles'' are unique to French academic education in CPGEs. In scientific and business CPGEs, ''colles'' consist of oral examinations twice a week, in French, foreign languages (usually English, German, or Spanish), maths, physics, philosophy, or geopolitics—depending on the type of CPGE. Students, usually in groups of three or four, spend an hour facing a professor alone in a room, answering questions and solving problems. In humanities CPGEs, ''colles'' are usually taken every quarter in every subject. Students have one hour to prepare a short presentation that takes the form of a French-style ''dissertation'' (a methodologically codified essay, typically structured in 3 parts: thesis, counter-thesis, and synthesis) in history, philosophy, etc. on a given topic, or the form of a ''commentaire composé'' (a methodologically codified commentary) in literature and foreign languages. In Ancient Greek or Latin, they involve a translation and a commentary. The student then has 20 minutes to present his/her work to the teacher, who finally asks some questions on the presentation and on the corresponding topic. ''Colles'' are regarded as very stressful, particularly due to the high standards expected by the teachers, and the subsequent harshness that may be directed at students who do not perform adequately. But they are important insofar as they prepare the students, from the very first year, for the oral part of the highly competitive examinations, which are reserved for the happy few who pass the written part.


Recruitment of teachers

Decades ago, primary school teachers were educated in Écoles normales and secondary teachers recruited through the "
Agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''professe ...
" examination. The situation has been diversified by the introduction in the 1950s of the CAPES examination for secondary teachers and in the 1990s by the institution of " Instituts universitaires de formation des maitres" (IUFM), which have been renamed Écoles supérieures du professorat et de l’éducation (ESPE) in 2013 and then Instituts Nationaux supérieurs du professorat et de l’éducation (INSPE) in 2019. Precisely, school teachers are divided between : * Primary school and kindergarten teachers (Professeurs des écoles), educated in an INSPE, have usually a "master" (Bac+5). Their weekly service is about 28 hours a week. * Certified teachers (Professeurs certifiés), educated in both a University and an INSPE, have a "master" (Bac+5) and must pass a competitive exam called Certificat d'aptitude au professorat de l'enseignement du second degré (CAPES) in a specific domain. Their rank usually determines their geographic assignment for the first years of their careers. The majority of them are teaching in ''collège'' (middle school). * ''Agrégés'' teachers (Professeurs agrégés) are recruited through a different competitive exam called ''
Agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''professe ...
'', of much higher level in each domain. They could either be certified teachers or external holders of at least a "master" (Bac+5) in the domain. In the latter case they must attend an additional formation in teaching in an INSPE. ''Agrégés'' teachers have a higher salary rate and reduced weekly service. The majority of them are teaching in ''lycée'' (high school). University teachers are recruited by special commissions, and are divided between: * "teachers-researchers" (enseignants-chercheurs), with at least a doctorate: they teach classes and conduct research in their field of expertise with a full tenure. They are either Maître de conférences (Senior lecturers), or Professeurs (Professors). A Maître de conférence must publish a reviewed work named Habilitation à diriger des recherches (HDR) (professorial thesis) in order to be allowed to become the director of studies for PhD students. The HDR is in turn necessary to be appointed as Professeur. The net pay (all insurances included) is from 2,300 to 8,800 (with extra duties) euros per month. Net salaries of over 4,000 euros per month (2011 level) are however very unusual, and limited to the small minority of teacher-researchers who have held the grade of first class full professor for at least seven years, which is rare. The maximum possible net salary for second-class full professors and chief senior lecturers (maître de conférence hors classe), the end of career status for most full-time teacher-researchers in French universities, is 3,760 euros a month (2011), and only a few of the group ever reach that level. * Secondary school teachers who have been permanently assigned away from their original school position to teach in a university. They are not required to conduct any research but teach twice as many hours as the "teachers-researchers". They are called PRAG (professeurs agrégés) and PRCE (professeurs certifiés). Their weekly service is 15 or 18 hours. The net pay is from 1,400 to 3,900 euros per month. * CPGE teachers are usually "agrégés" or "chaire sup", assigned by the Inspection générale according to their qualifications and competitive exam rank as well as other factors. Their weekly service is about 9 hours a week, 25 or 33 weeks a year. Net pay : from 2,000 to 7,500 euro (extra hours) *France did a great activity of supplying training for their people, via way of means of the 1800s, France had approximately 350 eight-yr faculties and six-yr faculties. Also in the course of the 1800s, they furnished classical training to approximately 50,000 to younger guys from a long time of 10-20. Getting greater specific, the very best increase charge of training in France became in the course of the 1821-1837 whilst towns welcomed new colleges. The increase charge slowed in the course of 1837–1867 because the authorities reached thinly populated rural areas. Then, via way of means of 1867-1906, the emphasis became on deepening the first-rate of colleges and teaching.
Camille Sée Camille Sée (10 March 1847 – 20 January 1919) was a French politician who was born in Colmar. As the pioneer of the 1880 French law which established Lycées for girls, he also created the École normale supérieure in Sèvres in 1881. He wa ...
added secondary colleges for ladies in 1880, which became a vital pass due to the fact he furnished secondary faculty stage of training to ladies. There have been 36 such colleges in France in 1896.


Religion

Religious instruction is not given by public schools (except for 6- to 18-year-old students in Alsace-Moselle under the
Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...
).
Laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determin ...
(secularism) is one of the main precepts of the
French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In a March 2004 ruling, the French government banned all "conspicuous religious symbols" from schools and other public institutions with the intent of preventing
proselytisation Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between '' evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invo ...
and to foster a sense of tolerance among ethnic groups. Some
religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
groups showed their opposition, saying the law hindered the freedom of religion as protected by the French constitution.


Statistics

The
French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
has 67 million inhabitants, living in the 13 regions of metropolitan
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and four overseas departments (2.7 million). Despite the fact that the population is growing (up 0.4% a year), the proportion of young people under 25 is falling. There are now fewer than 19 million young people in Metropolitan France, or 32% of the total population, compared with 40% in the 1970s and 35% at the time of the 1990 census. France is seeing a slow aging of the population, however, that is less marked than in other neighbouring countries (such as
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
), especially as the annual number of births is currently increasing slightly. Eighteen million pupils and students, a quarter of the population, are in the education system, over 2.9 million of whom are in
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
. In 2000, the French Education Minister reported that only 39 out of 75,000 state schools were "seriously violent" and some 300 were "somewhat violent".Lichfield, J. (2000, January 27)
Violence in the lycees leaves France reeling
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. London.


See also

*
Trouvermonmaster.gouv.fr trouvermonmaster.gouv.fr is a Web portal that lists all national master's degrees in France, as well as the procedures for applying for them, the number of places available, the selection criteria and the timetable. The site is not designed to col ...
, a Web portal listing all the masters available in France *
Parcoursup Parcoursup is a Web portal designed by both the French Ministry of Education French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects a ...
, a Web portal listing all the undergraduate programmes available in France *
Academic grading in France Since 1890, the French baccalauréat exam, required to receive a high school diploma, has traditionally scored students on a scale (Barème) of 0-20, as do most secondary school and university classes. Although the traditional scale stops at 20/2 ...
*
Agency for French Teaching Abroad The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs ...
(''Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger'') * Campus France (Agency for the promotion of French Higher Education) *
Conférence des Grandes écoles The ''Conférence des Grandes Écoles'' (CGE), French for "Conference of Grandes Écoles", is a French national institution, created in 1973. It mainly acts as an association of ''Grandes Écoles'', providing representation, research and accredi ...
(CGE) *
Conference of the Directors of French Engineering Schools Conférence des directeurs des écoles françaises d'ingénieurs (CDEFI) is French for "Conference of Deans of French Schools of Engineering". The CDEFI is a French national institution that represents all engineering institutions that are accredit ...
(''Conférence des directeurs des écoles françaises d'ingénieurs'' (CDEFI)) *
Homeschooling in France Homeschooling is legal in many countries. Countries with the most prevalent homeschooling movements include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some countries have highly regulated homeschooling programs as ...
*
Open access in France In France, open access to scholarly communication is relatively robust and has strong public support. Revues.org, a digital platform for social science and humanities publications, launched in 1999. Hyper Articles en Ligne (HAL) began in 2001. T ...
* Nursery schools of France


References


Further reading

* Baker, Donald N. and Patrick J. Harrigan, eds. '' The Making of Frenchmen: current directions in the history of education in France, 1679-1979'' (Waterloo, Ontario: Historical Reflections Press, 1980). * Clark, Linda L. "Approaching the History of Modern French Education: Recent Surveys and Research Guides," ''French Historical Studies'' (1987) 15#1 pp. 157–16
in JSTOR
* Corbett, Anne, and Bob Moon, eds. ''Education in France: continuity and change in the Mitterrand years 1981-1995'' (Routledge, 2002) * Duru-Bellat, Marie. "France: permanence and change." in Yan Wang, ed. '' Education policy reform trends in G20 members'' (Springer, 2013) pp. 19–32. * Duru-Bellat, Marie. "Recent Trends in Social Reproduction in France: Should the Political Promises of Education be Revisited?" ''Journal of Education Policy'' (2008) 23#1: 81-95. . * Foght, H.W. ed. ''Comparative education'' (1918), compares United States, England, Germany, France, Canada, and Denmar
online
* Harrigan, Patrick. "Women teachers and the schooling of girls in France: Recent historiographical trends." ''French Historical Studies'' (1998) 21#4: 593-610
online
* Langan, Elise. "The normative effects of higher education policy in France." ''International Journal of Educational Research'' 53 (2012): 32-43. * Passow, A. Harry et al. ''The National Case Study: An Empirical Comparative Study of Twenty-One Educational Systems.'' (1976
online
* van Zanten, Agnès and Claire Maxwell. "Elite Education and the State in France: Durable Ties and New Challenges." ''British Journal of Sociology of Education'' (2015). 36#1: 71-94. . * Van Zanten, Agnès. "Widening participation in France and its effects on the field of élite higher education and on educational policy." ''Policy and Inequality in Education'' (Springer, 2017) pp. 73–89.


External links


Eurydice France
Eurydice: Portal for European education systems

(English)

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a webdossier by the German Education Server (English)
Understand the French School System in 5 min
(English & French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Education In France