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Secondary education in France

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In France , secondary education is in two stages:

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40-565: The school year starts in early September and ends in early July. Metropolitan French school holidays are scheduled by the Ministry of Education by dividing the country into three zones (A, B, and C) to prevent overcrowding by family holidaymakers of tourist destinations, such as the Mediterranean coast and ski resorts. Lyon , for example, is in zone A, Marseille is in zone B and Paris and Bordeaux are in zone C. In contrast to

80-406: A professeur principal (main teacher or class tutor) who acts as the link between the teaching staff, administration and pupils. Ultimately, the collège has the task of preparing students for the advanced subjects of the lycée . At the end of the troisième class, students sit for le diplôme national du brevet , an end-of- collège examination . The brevet is not required for entrance to

120-459: A Monday morning. The fixed dates can lead to over-crowding in tourist resorts such as the Mediterranean coast and the ski resorts, and price increases and availability problems in travel and accommodations. To alleviate this problem, holiday schedules for the "winter" and "spring" holidays in February and April, respectively, are staggered by dividing the country into three zones. Nevertheless,

160-415: A certain job, e.g. operating a sand blaster . Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill being shown and used. A skill may be called an art when it represents a body of knowledge or branch of learning, as in the art of medicine or the art of war . Although the arts are also skills, there are many skills that form an art but have no connection to

200-433: A few courses aimed for students from a given série that can also accept students from other séries if they have taken a given specialisation. Starting from the 2020-21 academic year, the S, ES and L streams of the general baccalaureate are deleted. Students of the general baccalaureate now choose three specialty courses, then keep two in the final year. There are 12 specialties (that vary in their availability depending on

240-477: A first foreign language, or Latin or Ancient Greek as options. French school holidays French school holidays are the periods when schools in France , and all the pupils in them, have a holiday. The dates are fixed nationally by the Ministry of Education for a period of three years. Holiday dates are given as a Saturday date "after classes", as some schools have lessons on Saturday mornings, and return on

280-528: A grade can appeal said decision. The decision of the appeals council is final. The lycée ( pronounced [lise] ) is the second and last stage of secondary education in the French educational system . The City of Paris refers to a lycée in English as a " sixth form college ". A pupil attending a lycée is a lycéen (masculine) or a lycéenne (feminine). Until 1959, the term lycée designated

320-399: A hands-on educational approach than in academic schooling. There are nearly 100 specialties, including: Leather crafts; Building technician; Maintenance of industrial equipment; Cooking; Road freight transport driver; Butcher, etc and others. French parents are not free to choose the state school that their children will attend; unless the children have special learning needs, they will attend

360-452: A particular career. General and technological education courses are provided in "standard" lycées , while vocational courses are provided in separate professional lycées . In practice, competent pupils at a vocational lycée professionnel can also apply to take short-term, post–baccalauréat studies leading to the Brevet de technicien supérieur (BTS), a vocational qualification. That option

400-495: A secondary school with a full curriculum (seven years, the present college + lycée) directly under the supervision of the state, then from 1959 to 1963 any secondary school with a full curriculum. Older lycées still include a collège section, so a pupil attending a lycée may actually be a collégien . At the end of the final year of schooling, most students take the baccalauréat diploma. There are three main types of baccalauréat , which are completely different from each other:

440-435: A specialization. Epstein argues that many tasks require a variety of skills which tend to be possessed by more well-rounded people, and finding a task which is a better fit to one's personality and interests can overcome the advantage otherwise provided by having more practice earlier in life and attempting peak performance as a younger person. Someone who has demonstrated a high level of knowledge or skill in multiple disciplines

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480-415: A specific task or situation. It involves both understanding and proficiency in such specific activity that involves methods, processes, procedures, or techniques. These skills are easily quantifiable unlike soft skills , which are related to one's personality. These are also skills that can be or have been tested and may entail some professional, technical, or academic qualification. Holistic competencies

520-583: A textbook branch. Usually a different professeur or teacher teaches each subject; most teachers teach several different age groups. Collège pupils stay in the same class throughout the school year and in every subject (except for optional courses such as foreign languages, where students from several classes mix), so each year-group is divided into as many classes as necessary. The strong belief in teaching in mixed-ability classes means that streaming occurs only rarely. Class sizes vary from school to school, but usually range from 20 to 35 pupils. Each class has

560-854: Is an umbrella term for different types of generic skills (e.g., critical thinking , problem-solving skills, positive values, and attitudes (e.g., resilience , appreciation for others) which are essential for life-long learning and whole-person development. Skilled workers have long had historical import ( see division of labour ) as electricians , masons , carpenters , blacksmiths , bakers , brewers , coopers , printers and other occupations that are economically productive. Skilled workers were often politically active through their craft guilds . An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carry out complex activities or job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills). According to

600-473: Is available also to pupils at a lycée général . In France, the lycée général is the usual stepping stone to university degrees. Before 2021, the students of the general baccalaureate chose one of three streams (termed séries ) in the penultimate lycée year (S for Sciences; ES for Economics and Social sciences; and L for Literature). During the seconde , students mostly take the same courses, despite having different academic skills and interests, so it

640-403: Is called socialization . Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others. Development of a very high level of skill is often desirable for economic, social, or personal reasons. In his 2008 book Outliers , Malcolm Gladwell proposed

680-518: Is no entrance examination into collège , but administrators have established a comprehensive academic examination of students starting in sixième . The purpose of the examination is evaluating pupils' level on being graduated from primary school. The table at the right details the French curriculum. Along with 3-4 weekly hours of physical education , a typical school week consists of some 26 hours of schooling. French language and literature occupy

720-408: Is restricted to the chosen course. For example, a student in série S can choose to specialise in mathematics , physics , " SVT " ( biology and geology ) or " engineering sciences" but not in philosophy . A student in série L can choose to specialise in one of his or her foreign languages (English being the most popular), a third foreign language or a dead language such as Latin, or one of

760-590: Is standardized for all French public institutions. Changes to the programme are made every year by the French Ministry of Education and are published in the Ministry's Bulletin officiel de l'Éducation nationale ( BO ), the official reference bulletin for educators. The collège is the first level of secondary education in the French educational system . A pupil attending collège is called collégien (boy) or collégienne (girl). Men and women teachers at

800-493: Is usually thought to be an easier year than either the première or the terminale . The baccalauréat général examination is different for all three séries , and subjects are weighted according to the course taken. According to the official statistics, for the 2003–2004 school year, 33 percent of all students chose série S ; 19 percent chose série ES ; and 11 percent chose série L . All students take philosophy courses in terminale , while French language classes end in

840-683: The Portland Business Journal , people skills are described as: A British definition is "the ability to communicate effectively with people in a friendly way, especially in business." The term is already listed in major US dictionaries. The term people skills is used to include both psychological skills and social skills but is less inclusive than life skills . Social skills are any skills facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning such skills

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880-441: The baccalauréat général (general baccalaureate), the baccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate), and the baccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate). Lycées are divided into (i) the lycée général , leading to two or more years of post–baccalauréat studies, (ii) the lycée technologique , leading to short-term studies, and (iii) the lycée professionnel , a vocational qualification leading directly to

920-414: The collège - and lycée -level are called professeur (no official feminine professional form exists in France although the feminine form "professeure" has appeared and seems to be gaining some ground in usage). The City of Paris refers to a collège in English as a " high school ". Entry in sixième occurs directly after the last year of primary school , called Cours moyen deuxième année (CM2). There

960-521: The fine arts . People need a broad range of skills to contribute to the modern economy. A joint ASTD and U.S. Department of Labor study showed that through technology, the workplace is changing, and identified 16 basic skills that employees must have to be able to change with it. Three broad categories of skills are suggested: technical, human, and conceptual. The first two can be substituted with hard and soft skills, respectively. Hard skills, also called technical skills, are any skills relating to

1000-453: The lycée , and passing it does not guarantee that a pupil will progress to the higher-level school. During the last conseil de classe of the year, held in June, teachers and administrators decide whether or not a pupil can progress to the next grade. In deciding, they evaluate the student's skills , participation, and behaviour . One of three outcomes is possible: A student asked to repeat

1040-424: The première , excepting the série L , where they become French literature classes, where pupils are to study two books during the year, from French writers, or foreign books translated into French (e.g. Romeo and Juliet during the school year 2007–2008, or The Leopard from Italian author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa ). There also is a required option for further specialisation in all séries , although it

1080-479: The "10,000 hour rule", that world-class skill could be developed by practicing for 10,000 hours. This principle was disputed by other commentators, pointing out feedback is necessary for improvement, and that practice is no guarantee of success. In his 2019 book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World , David Epstein argues that a period of sampling different activities (whether musical instruments, sports, or professions) can be helpful before choosing

1120-483: The South West. Corsica and overseas departments and territories define differently their school calendars. Whereas it is the Ministry of National Education which decides when will be holidays in metropolitan France, Corsica , French Polynesia , Guadeloupe , French Guiana , Martinique , Mayotte , New Caledonia , Réunion , Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna holidays can be adapted by decree by

1160-537: The beginning of September. Teachers return on 1 September, pupils usually on 2 September, but that might vary depending on how the weekend falls. All Saints holidays start on the last weekend of October before 1 November and last two weeks since 2012 (before it lasted a week and a half). Christmas holidays last two weeks encompassing Christmas and New Year. They are always full weeks. Winter holidays last two weeks and are distributed in France depending on zones between

1200-492: The examinations are now done over the school year but the students also have final exams in their 2 specialties as well as in philosophy, added to a general oral examination. After the seconde , students can also go on the lycée technologique to obtain the baccalaureat technologique. It includes eight other streams, called séries technologiques : The STPA and STAE stream are available only in lycées agricoles , speciality schools for agricultural sciences . The teaching of

1240-424: The following arts: music, theatre, circus, " plastiques ". Specialisation adds a separate, weekly two-hour class in the chosen discipline; also, it increases the weight of the chosen subject at the baccalauréat . The syllabus in the specialisation class is unrelated to the material learned in the common class. Specialisation plays no role in the choice of a post–secondary career or subject at university , except for

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1280-526: The lessons is based on inductive reasoning and experimentation. It allows you to work or to pursue short and technical studies (laboratory, design and applied arts, hotel and restaurant, management etc.). The lycée professionnel leads to the baccalauréat professionnel . The courses are designed for students who do not plan to continue into higher education. The vocational training is for craftspeople and involves internships in commercial enterprises. The courses are suitable for students who are more interested in

1320-765: The local Director of Education for a span of three years. For instance, school years in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna start in January and end in December. Skills A skill is the learned or innate ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain -general and domain-specific skills. Some examples of general skills include time management , teamwork and leadership , and self- motivation . In contrast, domain-specific skills would be used only for

1360-586: The most time, 4-5 hours per week, followed by 4 hours per week of mathematics ; other subjects occupy 1-3.5 hours per week. The curriculum is devised by the French Ministry of National Education and applies to all collèges in France and also for AEFE-dependent institutions. Académies and individual schools have little margin for curriculum customisation. Teachers compose syllabi per precise government educational regulations and choose textbooks accordingly, and every major French publishing house has

1400-525: The other pupils at the school. In any city, there are "better" lycées and collèges, which parents would prefer their children attend. The two main methods used in such circumstances to get children into a school other than their assigned school are : A similar trick is used if some classes in a school are seen as "better" than others. For organisational reasons, students taking certain options are grouped into special classes, which may be academically attractive. They typically include classes taking German as

1440-559: The practice in most other education systems, the school years in France are numbered on a decreasing scale. Thus, pupils begin their secondary education in the sixième (6th class) and transfer to a lycée in the seconde (2nd class). The final year is the terminale . In French , the word étudiant(e) is usually reserved for university -level students, and collège and lycée students are referred to as élèves ( pupils or students in English). The curriculum ( programme officiel )

1480-441: The school allocated to them by the carte scolaire (school map). Reasons for attending a state school that is not their nearest include studying an option unavailable in the school to which they were originally assigned (e.g. a rare foreign language). For many reasons, many parents consider the allocated school standards inadequate, the teaching poor, and particularly if they do not like the idea of their children mixing with some of

1520-406: The school): arts , ecology , history & geography , humanities , languages , literature , mathematics , computer science , physics & chemistry , economic and social sciences , engineering sciences , biology & geology . These specialties are added to a part common to all: French , philosophy , history & geography , languages , sciences , sport . A large part of

1560-757: The second week of February and the first week of March. Easter holidays last two weeks and are distributed in France depending on zones between the second week of April and the first week of May. The three zones (A, B and C) dictate when a school at a particular location will have its holiday. The zones are not contiguous areas of France, but are designed to split the population evenly. Zone A includes Besançon , Bordeaux , Clermont-Ferrand , Dijon , Grenoble , Limoges , Lyon and Poitiers . Zone B includes Aix - Marseille , Amiens , Caen , Lille , Nancy - Metz , Nantes , Nice , Orléans - Tours , Reims , Rennes , Rouen and Strasbourg . Paris , Versailles and Créteil , along with Montpellier and Toulouse in

1600-486: The synchronized school holiday schedules still cause some crowding effects as families head to popular holiday locations, especially in the summer at the beginning and end of the months in July and August when the traffic jams are a regular feature of the news bulletins. The summer holidays officially begins in early July for all state schools and all students, whatever their age or type of school start their new school year at

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