French Education
When you are thinking of buying a house in France, if you have a family their education will be an important part of your decision.
In France, children start school very early. School starts at age 2 (for 52% of children) or 3 (for almost 100%) and children spend 2 or 3 years in maternelle (kindergarten). School is compulsory until age 16. In primary schools, French children spend almost 900 hours a year at school compared to 700 for countries such as Austria, Germany and Finland. The stereotype of learning by rote hardly exists today.
All teachers and professors in public schools and universities are employed and paid by the state. The Ministry of Education is, by far, the largest employer in France.
Most schools are public (85%) but there are also private schools throughout France, particularly in the very religious regions of Western and Eastern France.
Separation of church and state was decreed in 1905, but Catholic schools continue to coexist alongside public ones - and get state funding for teachers' salaries, social security costs, and scholarships. 13.4 % of elementary school children and 20% of high school pupils attend private schools.
The final exam in High School , the "Baccalauréat" or "Bac" is very important for French students because it gives them access to university studies, with no further selection. It is a rigorous exam with no multiple choice questions. It includes a written part and an oral part, with several subjects each.
It lasts up to six days. Less than 20 per cent of those who take it fail (and now many people think it's too easy) and it does not mean anything except it gives access to the university, even for people whose level and motivation are too low. Every year, the "bac" is one of the major events of the month of June and newspapers publish and discuss the subjects in Philosophy and Literature. The French love it and don't want to change it.
France has a dual system for higher education : "Universités" and "Grandes Ecoles"; the latter (less than 5% of students) requires very competitive selection entry exams. The "Grandes Ecoles" offer science and business studies. For medical and law studies, there are no Grandes Ecoles but universities have developed selective entry systems.
Education is almost free at all levels except for private schools and business schools.
The grading system goes from 0 to 20 with 20 being perfect. The grading system is extremely tough. Hardly anyone ever gets a 20 or even an 18 or 19. Teachers read the grades out loud when they hand back homework and tests.
Schools do not sponsor extra-curricular activities, or hardly any. The only thing that goes on at school is .... schoolwork.
All French students study Philosophy in their last year of high school. France is one of the few European countries (with Spain, Italy and Portugal) which requires this.
Maths is the yardstick by which performance is measured. Even though a student may be of a literary bent, he or she will probably choose the "Bac S" (the Maths "bac") because it is seen as the best. The good side of it is that a quite high proportion of great mathematicians are French.
The Erasmus program allows European students to study for up to a year in another European country for full credit and at no extra cost.
In France, it is common to repeat a year. If you do not adjust to a class and if your grades are not good enough, you have to do it again...
Before buying a house in France, look at the schools in the regions you like. You will get a feel of which school is right for your child.
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