The French Education System

Summary: The French education system is world renowned and the French baccalaureat is accepted as one of the highest secondary school qualifications worldwide therefore the quality of education available in France is not in doubt.

If you’re planning on moving to France and you’re relocating with your family then one of your main concerns may be securing your child’s education and ensuring that their schooling is not disrupted.

The French education system is world renowned and the French baccalaureat is accepted as one of the highest secondary school qualifications worldwide therefore the quality of education available in France is not in doubt.

Whether your child would benefit from entering the French state education system or not is another question altogether and may depend on their French language ability, the stage they are at in their schooling and the type of schools available in the particular town or region you move to.

First things first though, every single child living in France whether of French origin or not has a right to enter the French education system and receive schooling free of charge.

In France you have a mixture of local state schools, private schools, international schools and some specialist bi-lingual schools.  Some are state run, some are privately run and funded.  If your child is of preschool age or attending primary school currently it may be fairly straight forward to integrate them into a French language school.  If your child does not have a strong grasp of French and is at a key developmental stage in educational terms it might be better for them to attend an international school where they will be taught in their mother tongue or to start at a bi-lingual school where they will improve their French ability at the same time as continuing their education.

The decisions will be based on the child in question, your own preferences for their education, your budget and of course what’s available in the region you move to.

The school system is as follows: -

Between the ages of 3 and 5 children attend nursery (ecole maternelle).
From 6 to 16 years of age pupils attend a primary school (ecoleprimaire) and then a secondary school (college).  For the last two years of schooling pupils attend a lycee where they either take their baccalaureat or have vocational training.

Details of the schools and colleges available in the educational district you relocate to are available from the local education authority or rectorat academies.  And if you would like to learn more about settling your child into school in France read our article ‘Settling Your Child into School Abroad.’

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