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Attending School in the French National Education System

In France students are admitted to school according to their birthdate and the class they completed.

Click here to see the British and American classes/grades corresponding to French classes.

Primary: The youngest pupils (age 6-7) focus on the acquisition of French language and mathematics skills. Art, physical education, and the opportunity to begin learning a foreign language also accompany these core competencies. From age 8-11, we find the addition of history, literature, technology, and practical science applications.

Collège: The primary objective is to prepare students for either lycée or vocational school. The curriculum is organised by subject – French, mathematics, history and geography, civic education, life and earth sciences, technology, art, art history, musical education, physical education, physics and chemistry, and two modern languages or ancient languages constitute the bulk of the coursework. At the end of collège, students sit for a national exam known as the “Brevet”.

Lycée: It comprises the final three years of secondary education.  At the start of the year, students will sit a French and Maths test to determine their level and needs. There will be a reinforcement of French oral and written skills and help with future career choice.
At the end of seconde, students doing a general baccalauréat will not be choosing an academic stream like in the past (L,ES or S) but a “speciality” in addition to the common subjects that all students have to take (French, history-geography, civic education, two modern languages, science and sports). Three speciality subjects should be chosen for Première and then two for Terminale.
Première constitutes the first year of concentrated study in a student’s chosen field and marks the sitting of the first exam of the baccalauréat in French language. As of 2019-2020 in Première and Terminale, the obligatory subjects will be French (philosophy in Terminale), history-geography, two modern languages, sports and a new subject called “scientific and numerical humanities”.
At the end of Terminale, students sit the other subjects of the Baccalauréat exam which allows entrance to university. English 31 students have two additional subjects (English and History-Geography) to sit in the BFI ( Baccalauréat Français International).

TRansportation

BIKING

Both Simone Veil primary school and Collège, Lycée Victor Hugo are accessible by bike, car and bus.

There are bike racks available in front of the Primary school and on there is a bike garage on the Victor Hugo Boulevard by the Collège and Lycée.

BUS

To come to school by public transportation use Tisséo

Simone Veil: Line 21 and 150 ; stop Les Marôts

Collège & Lycée Victor Hugo: Line L2 (Lycée International); stop Monturon

You can aslo request School Bus transportation through the Haute Garonne departement.

TRAIN

To come to the Collège and Lycée by train with SNCF use the Toulouse/Colomiers/Auch line; stop at Lycée International.

CAR

Use N124 exit 5  En Signal for Place des Marôts (limited parking) and exit 6 for Collège & Lycée Victor Hugo.

Schedules, dress code & more

The school year in France begins in September and ends in late June or early July. The official calendar can be found here. Colomiers is in Zone C.

When compared to the British or American educationals systems, French students spend more hours at school than elsewhere. The French school day (and week) can be long. However, French students may have more frequent and longer breaks during the school day (there is no school on Wednesday afternoons in Primary, Collège and Lycée), leaving ample time to catch up on homework or study for exams. Lycée students may have school on Saturday mornings.

Uniforms are generally not required in public French schools, and our schools are no exception. However, correct attire is required as spelled out in the internal regulations of each school. Common sense should be a reasonable guide: anything provocative, obscene, or which would otherwise interfere with the learning environment should be avoided.

Lunch is served either in the school canteen or students are allowed to leave the school premises to eat at home. As a general rule, lunchboxes are not allowed unless the student presents a medical condition, allergy or food intolerance. In that case a personal care project (PAI: Projet d’Accueil Individualisé) is established. The PAI is a protocol of necessary conditions, practices and behaviour drawn up by the parents, the school and any other people concerned. You can request a protocol directly via the directeur of the school in primary or the Conseillères Principales d’Education (CPE) in secondary.

Sports. Although your child will frequently attend physical education courses in school, there are very few sports-related extracurricular activities. Rather, sporting activities are relegated to local “associations” that function outside the state educational system.


In France, children are expected to attend the school within their geographical catchment area. If parents wish to send their child to a school outside the area it is possible to do so if there are reasonable grounds. Please get in touch with the rectorat d'académie or the local city office.

School insurance. For compulsory school activities (i.e. attending school): school insurance is optional but strongly recommended in France, in case of accident, incident or injury.

For optional school activities (i.e. outings and trips), school insurance is mandatory.

School insurance covers a child and his/her parents in case of injury caused to a third person (civil responsibility) or injury caused by a third party (individual guarantee in case of bodily injury). Holders of a comprehensive multi-risk insurance policy which covers the whole family should look very carefully to check which type of risks are actually covered by their contract. It is recommended that you ask your insurance company to provide all the necessary details.

Parents can obtain school insurance from their own insurance company.

More Information

A handy guide School Education in France in English (published in 2012) has been compiled by the Ministry of Education. 

useful links

Government Websites

French Ministry of Education- International Sections 
Académie de Toulouse -Local Education Authority 

School websites

Ecole primaire Simone Veil 
Collège International Victor Hugo
Lycée International Victor Hugo

School Rules (Règlement intérieur)


Collège
Lycée

Curriculum

French Primary curriculum - French Ministry of Education 
French Collège curriculum- French Ministry of Education
The official decree regarding the International Section in English in Collège 
French Lycée curriculum -French Ministry of Education

Exams

Brevet
The Brevet (DNB) exam on the French Ministry of Education website 
The International option of the Brevet on the French Ministry of Education website

BFI

Le Bac Français International- brochure du Ministère de l'Education Nationale Septembre 2021

English level

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

University Applications

UK – UCAS
USA – The Common Application
Europe – Eunicas
France – Parcoursup

US entrance exams

College Board (PSAT, SAT)
ACT

Choosing a university

Times Higher Education
Shanghai Ranking
QS World University Rankings
Uni Compare – Comparing UK universities and courses

Finding Loans, Grants and Scholarships

Mo – UK University Scholarships