Since 1982, the previously highly centralised French education system has become more decentralised with certain powers and responsibilities transferring from central government to local authorities. The national Ministry of Education has 'external administrative' departments known as académies, with jurisdiction over a particular geographical area of the country. There are 31 such académies, each covering several départements (smaller administrative areas). Schools are to some extent independent as regards their administrative and teaching activity and, at secondary level, their financial affairs too
The majority of the school population receives education financed by the State. Responsibility for the funding of education is shared between the State and local authorities.
In private sector education, families must pay school fees, which vary from school to school. The majority of private schools are Catholic schools which have a contract with the State. This entitles them to a significant amount of funding which also covers the cost of teachers’ salaries and their initial in-service training. In addition, they are obliged to adhere to the timetables and curricula followed in publicly-funded schools and are subject to state supervision/inspection.
French is the official language of instruction. However, some regional languages, such as Breton or Corsican, which are still in use in certain areas of France may be taught as optional subjects in some schools.
Compulsory education in France commences at age 6 and ends at 16. This requirement includes both the elementary school (five years, ages 6-11) (école élémentaire) and the collège (lower secondary school). On average, students leaving the collège (which lasts four years, unless they have repeated a year) are 15 years of age. Students must therefore still attend school full-time for at least one more year to satisfy the compulsory schooling requirement, either in a general and technological lycée (lycée d'enseignement général et technologique, LEGT) or in a vocational lycée (lycée professionnel, LP).
Parents have a right to ask for a publicly-funded pre-school place for children aged between 2 and 6, although there are not currently sufficient places for all 2-year-olds. A place must be made available for any 3-year-old child whose parents request it, either in a nursery school (école maternelle) or an infant class (classe enfantine) attached to an elementary school, as near as possible to his/her home.
Public sector nursery schools are funded by central government through the commune (smallest administrative sub-division). They are co-educational and non-denominational. Children may also attend private sector nursery schools, for which parents have to pay fees. In addition, daycare facilities exist for babies to 3-year-olds.
A national curriculum for pre-school education has been in place since September 1995. It is determined by the Ministry of Education and focuses on five subject areas: language at the centre of learning; living together (“vivre ensemble”); movement and expression with the body; discovering the world ("découverte du monde"); and imagining, feeling and creating.
Post-compulsory upper secondary education for 16- to 18-year-olds is usually provided in either a general and technological lycée (lycée général et technologique, LEGT) or a vocational lycée (lycée d’enseignement professionnel, LP). These establishments also cater for the final year of compulsory education (15- to 16-year-olds). Students choose specialist subjects which depend on the specific qualification they have decided to pursue, although they all have to continue their studies in certain subjects. These usually include French, mathematics, a foreign language, history-geography, civic education, sport and philosophy. Artistic education is also available, and students following humanities based courses must also study some science. Post-compulsory education is available to students free of charge, unless they attend private establishments.
Wherever possible, students with special educational needs (SEN) in France are educated in mainstream classes alongside their peers. Where it is not possible for students with SEN to be educated in mainstream classes, the usual alternatives are schooling in special classes within mainstream schools, or full- or part-time integration in a special school.
The school year runs from early September to June and is divided into three terms. France is divided into three distinct zones to ensure staggered school holidays. The first holiday period (a little over a week) is generally around November, followed by a second, of two weeks, over Christmas and the New Year. These holidays are identical for the three zones. The beginning of the winter holiday (some ten days) is then staggered according to zone, over the month of February. The spring holidays last for two weeks in April and the summer holidays are virtually the same for the three zones and begin at the end of June.
The school year consists of 180 days of classes; schools are open six days a week (Monday-Saturday), but no classes are held on Wednesdays or on Saturday afternoons. Increasing numbers of schools no longer hold sessions on Saturday mornings. The annual minimum number of teaching hours in primary level education is 846 and in compulsory lower secondary education (11- to 15-year-olds) it is 842.
There is central, state control of the curriculum in France and a statutory national curriculum, which differs according to age group.
| Phase of education | Cycle/Age range | Subjects studied |
| Primary |
Basic learning cycle, ages 6-8 |
French/literacy; ‘living together’ (civics); mathematics; ‘discovering the world’; foreign/regional languages; art; sport and physical education |
|
Consolidation cycle, ages 8-11 |
French language, literacy and humanities; science education; artistic education; sport; civics | |
| Lower secondary education |
Sixième (age 11-12) Cinquième (age 12-13) Quatrième (age 13-14) Troisième (age 14-15) |
French; mathematics; modern foreign languages; history/geography; civic education; life and earth sciences; technology; art education; sport. Subjects studied vary according to age group. |
|
Upper secondary education (NB The final two years of upper secondary education following the seconde (students aged 16-18) are post-compulsory.) |
Seconde, age 15-16 | French; mathematics; physics and chemistry; life and earth sciences; first modern foreign language; history and geography; sport; civic, legal and social education. In addition, two optional subjects chosen from a list and one other optional subject/practical workshop |
Since public-sector schools in France are secular, religion is not taught as a specific subject in schools although it may be covered in other curriculum areas. The only exceptions to this are in the Upper Rhine, Lower Rhine, and Moselle départements, which have retained a special status since their return to France in 1918. In late 2001, the French Education Minister announced new programmes for religious instruction in both primary and secondary schools. The new programmes do not introduce religious studies as a subject in its own right but strengthen integration of the topic throughout the curriculum. The aim is to expand students' cultural knowledge and understanding of world events.
Civic education has been a part of the statutory curriculum for compulsory education (ages 6 to 16) for some considerable time. Depending on the age group, lessons cover such topics as the Declaration of Human Rights, appropriate behaviour at home and school, moral and ethical issues, and acting responsibly.
In primary and lower secondary education, health education is usually included in civics and science lessons. Health education is compulsory at lower secondary level and must include sex education, which is usually taught in the quatrième (ages 13 to 14) and troisième (ages 14 to 15).
Although work-related education or careers education is not generally a curriculum area in its own right, ‘careers and academic advice’ are part of students’ basic rights to education.
Textbooks for use in school must be approved by the national Minister of Education and based on the curricula and official recommendations of the Ministry. Teachers select from the range of Ministry-approved textbooks. Students are loaned textbooks free of charge during compulsory education, but must return them on completion.
There are a number of different types of statutory national assessment during compulsory education, which include: continuous, periodic teacher assessment to test what students have learnt; end of year testing of selective samples of students; and national, mass diagnostic testing at the beginning of the school year for 8- and 11-year-olds. The main aims of mass diagnostic testing are to assist teachers in gauging students’ progress and in planning appropriate teaching activities most suited to their needs. After completion of a particular stage of compulsory education, students may sometimes have to repeat a year if they achieve unsatisfactory results. Parents are regularly informed of the results of assessment, which are recorded in the livret scolaire - a report book that tracks each child’s progress throughout compulsory education.
At the age of 15, all students take a lower secondary leaving examination. The results of this diplôme national du brevet are based on a student’s results in this examination, as well as marks for work completed during the two previous years. Passing the “brevet” confirms satisfactory completion of lower secondary education; it does not determine whether students may progress to the next stage of schooling at a lycée (upper secondary school).
There is a broad range of academic and vocational qualifications available during upper secondary education (ages 15 to 18), which are offered by either general and technological lycées or vocational lycées. One of the main qualifications offered is the Baccalauréat of which there are three types: general academic, technological and vocational. The general Baccalauréat usually leads to higher education, whereas the technological or vocational Baccalauréat may lead to either higher education or employment.
Initial teacher training for primary and secondary school teachers is provided in Instituts universitaires de formation des maîtres (IUFMs), which are state-run independent higher education institutions. They offer two years of postgraduate training, comprising a first year of preparation for the state teacher recruitment examination or concours and a second acquiring the practical knowledge necessary for teaching. On successful completion of an initial teacher training course, primary school teachers are awarded a diplôme professionnel de professeurs des écoles. Secondary school teachers are awarded one of the following five qualifications: the Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching at Secondary Level, the Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching Physical Education and Sport, the Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching Technical Subjects, the Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching in a Vocational Lycée or the advanced secondary level teaching qualification.