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In France , secondary education is in two stages:

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72-403: The European Qualifications Framework ( EQF ) acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning. The EQF aims to relate different countries' national qualifications systems to a common European reference framework. Individuals and employers will be able to use

144-407: 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

216-468: A concern. Between 2005 and 2016, the proportion of students who received an honour in the general baccalaureate doubled. A European section is an option in French high schools to teach a subject through a European language other than French. It also gives pupils the opportunity of having more hours in the language studied. It is also an opportunity to learn more about the culture of the country of which

288-554: 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

360-450: A fairly small demographic, they tend to be spread over a far larger area than would traditionally be expected of a normal lycée or secondary school. As a consequence, many of these students must commute long distances, with one-hour trips each way being fairly common. The long commutes, longer days, and increased workload that come with the OIB place great demands on students; many cannot handle

432-433: 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

504-495: A field and at the interface between different fields (Germany) Vocational university ( Fachhochschule ) Master's, Geprüfter Betriebswirt (IHK) (Certified Business Administrator); (Italy) Laurea Magistrale, Laurea vecchio ordinamento , Master universitario di primo livello; (Spain) Licenciado or Máster ; (Portugal) Mestrado; (Greece) AUA Diploma, NTUA Diploma (France) Master (Italy) Dottorato di ricerca , Master universitario di secondo livello. Notes to

576-546: A final exam. The word bac is also used to refer to one of the end-of-year exams that students must pass to get their baccalauréat diploma: the bac de philo , for example, is the philosophy exam, which all students must take, regardless of their field of study. Within France, there are three main types of baccalauréat obtained in different places, and which are completely different: For entrance to regular universities within France, however, there are some restrictions as to

648-477: 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

720-399: 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

792-495: A literature exam in terminale . Each baccalauréat stream has its own set of subjects that each carry a different weighting ( coefficient ). That allows some subjects to be more important than others. For example, in the ES stream, Economics & Social Sciences carries more weight than the natural sciences and so the former is more important than the latter. Students usually study more for exams that carry heavier weightings since

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864-452: 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

936-497: 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:

1008-584: A serial number, with all personally identifying material stripped away and forbidden from appearing, thus curbing any favoritism based upon sex, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. Unlike the English GCSEs , Scottish Standard Grades and the American SAT , the French baccalauréat is not a completely standardised test. Since most answers, even for biology questions, are given in essay form,

1080-443: A set common to all : French , philosophy , history & geography , languages , sciences and sport . A large part of the tests is now in continuous control but the students also have a final oral test. The technological baccalaureate is one of the three tracks of the French baccalaureate. It is obtained in a Lycée technologique . The teaching of the lessons is based on inductive reasoning and experimentation. It allows

1152-431: A short translation section as well. The Mathematics and Earth & Life Sciences examinations may occasionally contain some multiple-choice questions ( choix multiples ), but this is rare and, when it occurs, does not constitute the majority of the exam. Students of the baccalauréat général also have to work on an oral research project ( travaux personnels encadrés or TPE). It focuses on their specialties, under

1224-441: A significant amount of required reading and homework attached as well) than the other general baccalaureate students, and many of them tend to go to foreign universities. University admissions tutors often consider reducing the entrance requirements for students taking the OIB compared with those taking the standard French baccalaureate to reflect the additional demands of the OIB. Since the students that attend these schools make up

1296-457: A wider shift within which the EQF is acting as a catalyst for reforms: most Member States are now developing their own National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) based on learning outcomes. Several countries (IE, MT, UK, FR and BE-Flanders) already have one in force. At present, an enterprise in France may hesitate to recruit a job applicant from, say, Sweden, because it does not understand the level of

1368-564: Is also the European Baccalaureate , which students take at the end of the European School education. In France, there are three main types of baccalauréat , which are very different and obtained in different places: the baccalauréat général (general baccalaureate), the baccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate), and the baccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate). Much like

1440-473: 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

1512-472: 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 a textbook branch. Usually

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1584-522: Is now in continuous control. Most examinations are given in essay form. The student is given a substantial block of time (depending on the exam, that is from two to five hours) to complete a multiple-page, well-argued paper. The number of pages varies from exam to exam but is usually substantial considering all answers have to be written down, explained and justified. Mathematics and science exams are problem sets but some science questions also require an essay-type answer. Foreign-language exams often have

1656-526: Is obtained in a Lycée général . Before 2021, students who would sit for the baccalauréat général chose one of three streams (termed séries ) in their penultimate lycée year (S for Sciences; ES for Economics and Social sciences; and L for Literature). Each stream assigned different weights ( coefficients ) to each subject and resulted in a specialization. The streams of the Baccalauréat général before 2021 were as follows: Another terminology

1728-399: Is obtained in a Lycée professionnel . The professional baccalaureate includes nearly 100 specialties like : leather crafts; building technician; maintenance of industrial equipment; cook; road freight transport driver; butcher; etc. The baccalauréat général examination takes place in the two last years of the lycée : première and terminale . From 2021 a large part of the tests

1800-408: 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

1872-570: Is sometimes used that pertains to the curriculum before 1994, which further divided two of the séries . Until then, it was possible to sit for a bac C or D (which comprise the current S), a bac B (currently ES), or a bac A1 , A2 or A3 (which comprise the current L). People who passed the baccalauréat before the reform still use that terminology in referring their diploma. The baccalauréat permits students to sit exams in over forty languages, including French regional languages such as Alsatian , Breton , Catalan or Norman . Students in

1944-524: 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 ) 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

2016-494: 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

2088-434: 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 requirements. Though it has only existed in its present form as a school-leaving examination since Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte 's implementation on March 17, 1808, its origins date back to the first medieval French universities. According to French law,

2160-477: 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 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

2232-407: The bac upon completion of secondary school (or did not manage to pass it) and would like to attend university, or feel that the bac would help them accomplish professional aspirations, may exercise that option. The main purpose of the general baccalaureate is to access universities and grandes écoles to pursue higher academic education. It attests to an advanced level in general skills. It

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2304-441: 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

2376-425: The grande école examinations, are decided months before the examination. French educators seldom use the entire grading scale. The same applies when marking the baccalauréat . Therefore, students are very unlikely to get a 20 out of 20 or more (it is actually possible to get more than 20 because of options like Arts, Music, Latin, etc.). It is also very rare to see scores lower than 5. Grade inflation has become

2448-453: 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

2520-424: 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

2592-466: The second groupe ), a supplemental oral examination is given in two subjects of the student's choice. A student who does well enough in those examinations to raise the overall weighted grade to a 10 gets the baccalauréat . A student who does poorly in the orals and receives below a 10 may choose to repeat the final year of lycée ( terminale ). Students may not redo the entire examination in September;

2664-483: The "French international baccalaureate", it is unrelated to the International Baccalaureate (IB). The OIB adds additional subjects to the French national exam. Students choose one of the L, ES or S streams. It differs, as students take a two-year syllabus in literature, history, and geography in a foreign language. That syllabus and the way that it is examined is modelled on the national exam of

2736-486: The EQF to better understand and compare the qualifications levels of different countries and different education and training systems. Since 2012, all new qualifications issued in Europe carry a reference to an appropriate EQF level. The core of the EQF concerns eight reference levels describing what a learner knows, understands and is able to do – 'learning outcomes'. Levels of national qualifications will be placed at one of

2808-531: The European Matura or English A levels , the baccalauréat allows French and international students to obtain a standardised qualification, typically at the age of 18 (end of the lycée ). It qualifies holders to work in certain areas, go on to tertiary education ( universités ), or acquire some other professional qualification or training. Even though it is not legally required, the vast majority of students in their final year of secondary school take

2880-584: The L stream prepare for careers in education , linguistics , literature , philosophy , public service , politics , sociology , management , business administration , law , and economics . They also have interests in the arts . The most important subjects in the literary stream are Philosophy , French language , Literature , Arts and other Languages , usually English, German and Spanish. (same school curricula as ES stream) Only points above 10 out of 20 (50%) are taken into consideration. Multiplied by two for first subject (except Latin and Greek, where

2952-548: 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 the collège - and lycée -level are called professeur (no official feminine professional form exists in France although

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3024-587: The September examinations may be taken only by those who have not been able to take the June examinations for serious reasons (such as illness). Secondary education in France 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

3096-629: The baccalaureate is the first academic degree, though it grants the completion of secondary education. Historically, the baccalaureate is administratively supervised by full professors at universities. Similar academic qualifications exist elsewhere in Europe, variously known as Abitur in Germany , maturità in Italy , bachillerato in Spain , maturita in Slovakia and Czech Republic . There

3168-733: The central reference levels, ranging from basic (Level 1) to advanced (Level 8). This will enable a much easier comparison between national qualifications and should also mean that people do not have to repeat their learning if they move to another country. To compare EQF in different countries https://europa.eu/europass/en/compare-qualifications . (France) Baccalauréat , vocational school . (Netherlands) Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs . (Italy) Matura (Spain) Bachillerato (Austria) HTL (Italy) Diploma ITS , (France) BTS , Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles , BUT (Spain) Diplomado or Grado ; (Italy) Laurea triennale (France) Licence Critical awareness of knowledge issues in

3240-521: The end of terminale , OIB students have extra exams in Literature and History/Geography, with a written and oral component to both exams, and since 2024 an oral on a free project linked to the country of the section, known as Connaissance du monde . These exams have a high weighting in the final mark of the baccalaureate and do not give extra points to OIB students. Overall, these students work more (up to an additional 10 hours per week of classes, with

3312-440: 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 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

3384-437: The examination sheet(s). That way, anonymity is respected. The papers are usually marked by a member of the teaching staff in the same district or, at a larger scale, in the same académie . To avoid conflicts of interest, a teacher who has lectured to a student or group of students cannot grade that exam. Also, to ensure greater objectivity on the part of the examiners, the test is anonymous. The grader sees only an exam paper with

3456-492: 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

3528-428: The exams are unsealed by a high-ranking school officer (usually a principal or vice-principal) in front of the examinees only a few minutes prior to the start of the examination. The procedure is the same for each subject, in each stream. Students usually have an identification number and an assigned seat. The number is written on all exam material and the name is hidden by folding and sealing the upper right-hand corner of

3600-458: 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 is no entrance examination into collège , but administrators have established a comprehensive academic examination of students starting in sixième . The purpose of

3672-424: 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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3744-410: The general baccalaureate underwent a reformation. Since November 2017, an initiative spearheaded by minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has united numerous actors from the field of education to reinvent this system to have less exams (now only four) in conjunction with a large oral examination. The old streams (S, ES and L) equally disappeared and, rather than being entirely decided by final examinations, 40% of

3816-516: The grades may vary from grader to grader, especially in subjects like philosophy and French literature . Students generally take the French Language & Literature exam at the end of première since that subject is not taught in terminale , where it is replaced with Philosophy. It also has an oral examination component, along with the written part. The oral exam covers works studied throughout première . However, in L, students do have

3888-433: The grades that they obtain in these exams have a bigger impact on their overall grade. Whether or not one passes the bac and/or receives eventual honours is determined by the calculation of that overall grade. The general baccalaureate offers several additional variants. The best-known subset is the baccalauréat français international (named option internationale du baccalauréat , OIB, until 2022). Sometimes translated as

3960-573: The language is being spoken. For example, if learning History in Spanish, the history of Spain and that of Central and South America would be emphasized. Teachers present their lessons in English , German , Italian or Spanish . At the end, students can receive a "European section" mention on their baccalaureat . To have that mention, they need to get at least 12/20 on their language examination and at least 10/20 at an additional oral examination on

4032-526: 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

4104-458: The multiplier is 3) and by one for the second subject. Students of the ES stream prepare for careers in politics , sociology , management , business administration , law , and economics . The main and important subjects of this stream are Economics & Social Sciences , History & Geography , and Mathematics . From 2021, the S, ES and L streams of the general baccalaureate have been replaced by three specialty streams, taken during

4176-837: The multiplier is three) and by one for the second subject. The S stream prepares students for work in scientific fields such as medicine , engineering and the natural sciences . Science students must specialise in Mathematics , Physics & Chemistry , Computer Science or Earth & Life Sciences . Students in this stream must generally have a good result in Physics & Chemistry , Mathematics , Earth & Life Sciences and, if available, Engineering Sciences and Computer Science . Added to general subject above, except for Computer Science. Only points above 10 out of 20 (50%) are taken into consideration. Multiplied by two for first subject (except Latin & Greek, where

4248-525: 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

4320-473: The penultimate year (Première), only two of which are kept in the final year (Terminale). There are 12 subjects specific to the three spécialités (majors, litt. "specialities") : arts , ecology , history , geography & geopolitics , humanities , languages , literature , mathematics , computer science , physics & chemistry , economic & social sciences , engineering sciences , and biology & geology . These subjects are added to

4392-669: The qualifications presented by the Swedish candidate. But once the EQF is fully implemented, a Swedish person's certificates will bear a reference to an EQF reference level. The French authorities will have already decided where their own national certificates in the field concerned lie, so the French enterprise would use the EQF reference to get a better idea of how the Swedish qualification compares to French qualifications. Baccalaur%C3%A9at The baccalauréat ( French pronunciation: [bakaloʁea] ; lit.   ' baccalaureate ' ), often known in France colloquially as

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4464-574: The regional languages Basque , Breton , Catalan , Corsican , Auvergnat , Gascon , Languedoc , Limousin , Niçard , Provençal , Vivaro-Alpine , regional languages of Alsace , regional languages of Moselle , Tahitian , Albanian , Amharic , Melanesian languages , Bambara , Berber , Bulgarian , Cambodian , Korean , Croatian , Hausa , Hindi , Hungarian , Indonesian , Malaysian , Laotian , Lithuanian , Macedonian , Malagasy , Persian , Fulani , Romanian , Serbian , Slovak , Slovenian , Swedish , Swahili , Tamil , Czech . In 2021,

4536-441: 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

4608-406: 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

4680-707: The student to work or to pursue short and technical studies (laboratory, design and applied arts, hotel and restaurant management, etc.). It currently has eight sections : STMG (Sciences and Technologies of Management), ST2S (Sciences and Technologies of Healthcare), STI2D (Sciences and Technologies of Industry and Sustainable Development), STD2A (Sciences and Technologies of Design and Applied Art), STHR (Hospitality Industry and Business), STL (Science and Technologies of Laboratory), STAV (Science and Technologies of Agronomy and Living Organisms), S2TMD (Science and Technologies of Theatre, Music and Dance). The professional baccalaureate allows rapid integration into working life. It

4752-413: The student's final grade will consist of demonstrated success over the course of the school year.   The pass mark is 10 out of 20. The 2014 success rate for the baccalauréat in mainland France was 87.9%. For the baccalauréat , four levels of honours are given: Honours are prestigious but not crucial, as admissions to the classes préparatoires (preparatory classes), which prepare students for

4824-432: The subject in the language. For example, those who choose History in Spanish as an additional subject would take their Spanish examination like the rest of their classmates, who do not have History in Spanish, and get at least 12/20. They then have to pass an oral examination on history in Spanish and get at least 10/20. A student who averages between 8 and 10 is permitted to sit for the épreuve de rattrapage (also called

4896-407: The supervision of a faculty member. The oral examination takes place in front of a jury of teachers. There are also several oral exams in languages; practical work in science or arts; or physical evaluation in sport. When taken in mainland France, the baccalauréat material is the same for all students in a given stream. The secrecy surrounding the material is very tight, and the envelopes containing

4968-431: The table: The EQF applies to all types of education, training and qualifications, from school education to academic, professional and vocational. This approach shifts the focus from the traditional system which emphasises 'learning inputs', such as the length of a learning experience, or type of institution. It also encourages lifelong learning by promoting the validation of non-formal and informal learning. This reflects

5040-615: The target nation. For instance, the British Section (administered by the University of Cambridge ) models the programmes on A-levels in English, History, and Geography. It is therefore necessary to be fully bilingual to complete this qualification. To date there are 16 different sections supporting 14 different languages: American, Arabic, British, (mainland) Chinese, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. At

5112-414: The type of baccalauréat that can be presented. In some cases, it may be possible to enter a French university without the bac by taking a special exam, the "diploma for entrance to higher education". Though most students take the bac at the end of secondary school, it is also possible to enter as a candidat libre (literally, "free candidate") without affiliation to a school. Students who did not take

5184-608: The workload and transfer to schools offering the standard French baccalaureate. Thus, many consider the OIB qualification to be highly challenging and a sign, not only of academic prowess, but also of tenacity and hard work. To test their foreign or regional language students can choose among these different languages (though not at all schools): the foreign languages English , German , Arabic , Armenian , Cambodian , Chinese , Danish , Spanish , Finnish , Modern Greek , Hebrew , Italian , Japanese , Dutch , Norwegian , Polish , Portuguese , Russian , Turkish , Vietnamese ; and

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