L’école en FranceL’école en France

School Levels

École maternelle (preschool) : 3 à 5 ans

École élémentaire (Elementary School): 6 à 11 ans

School Levels Le collège (Middle School/Jr. High): 11

à 14 ans Grade levels (descending order: 6e, 5e,

4e, 3e) Le lycée (High School): 15 à 17ans

Grade levels (2nd, 1ere, Terminale) L’université (College): 18+ ans

The School Week in France Monday (lundi) Tuesday (mardi) 1/2 day Wednesday (mercredi) Thursday (jeudi) Friday (vendredi) 1/2 day Saturday (samedi)

Many have switched to: Monday (lundi) Tuesday (mardi) Wednesday (mercredi) Thursday (jeudi)

The School Day Maternelle (preschool)

9h à 16h30 Elémentaire (elementary)

8h45 à 16h30 Collège & Lycée (jr high & high

school) 8h30 à 17h

Les vacances La Toussaint

1.5 weeks at the end of Oct/beginning of November

Noël 2 weeks for Christmas

Hiver 2 weeks winter break (mid-February)

Printemps 2 weeks spring break (mid-April)

Été 2 months early July to early September

Les 3 “zones”

Grading System Scale of 0- 20

10-11: adequate 12-13: passable 14-15: good 16: excellent 17: outstanding, have mastered the class 18-19: nearing perfection 20: perfect

Grades continued… Grades of 17-20 are RARE.

17 out of 20 = 85%… this means that students are happy to get an 85%!

Teachers read the grades aloud in class as they pass back papers.

Other differences: LE BAC Le Bac

A huge written and oral exam at the end of high school

MUST pass to GET IN to college & also to get your diploma

High School Sports They do not have high school teams,

only Club teams

Number of school days They go to school 160 days out of the

year (we go to school 180 days out of the year)

… this means they go 4 weeks less than we do!

During summer vacation 60% of French students take a “cahier

de vacances” with them on vacation.

Do you do anything for school over the summer? (and is it by choice, not something assigned by a teacher?)

School Lunch Costs 1.5- 2 Euros (about $2.50) Includes:

Appetizer/ salad Main course Cheese Dessert

Length of Lunch 2 hours at every school, from 12-2pm

During this time, students can: Go homeEat at the school cafeteriaGo to a café or restaurant with friends

University Tuition College in the USA can cost $10,000-

$50,000, not including books, living expenses, food, etc.

In France, college is between 150-400 Euros a year. This is about $200-$500. (The government/taxes pays for most of it.)