Education in France is compulsory from six to 16 but nearly all French children from the age of two/three attend the nursery school known as Maternelle, mostly state run. Pupils go the école élémentaire (primary school) from six to the age of 11 and then attend collège (lower secondary school) from 11 to 15 at which age they take the Brevet des collèges examination. After collège, pupils can be admitted to a lycée d’enseignement général et technologique (general and technological upper secondary school) for three years leading to the general baccalauréat, or a lycée d’enseignement professional (vocational lycée) also for three years leading to the baccalauréat technologique (vocational baccalaureat). They may instead choose to follow work-based apprenticeship training to prepare the CAP (Certificat d’Aptitudes Pratiques) or the BEP (Brevet d’Etudes Pratiques)
Enrolment in the state system is free and depends on the catchment area. Private schools are fee paying but a lot of them receive funding from the state which helps to reduce their fees substantially. Private schools do not depend on a catchment area.
In 2009, there were nearly 15 million pupils and students in full-time education including 2.316 million in higher education (1.44 million at university). Public expenditure on higher education reached 26.3 billion euros.
The specificity of the French higher education system is the great variety of its institutions – public and private - which differ in purpose, structure and admission requirements. Despite this diversity, four broad types of institutions can be identified: the institutions of higher technical education, the universities, the “grandes écoles” and the specialist schools.
The institutions of higher technical education are the STS -- Sections de Techniciens Supérieurs -- and the IUTs -- Instituts Universitaires de Technologie. They offer two-year technological and professional programmes which form an integral part of French higher education and aim at training high level technicians in the field of industry, agriculture as well as tertiary and services sectors (business, accounting, tourism, transport, etc.).
There are 81 state universities in France offering the entire range of academic subjects in the field of science, arts, humanities, social sciences, etc as well as a growing number of career focused programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, using increasingly diverse and innovative teaching methods. Each university is divided into departments called UFR (Unités de Formation et de Recherche).
The Grandes Ecoles are a unique feature of the French Higher education system. They were created in the 18th century as an alternative to the universities and were originally intended to train top civil servants and senior executives in business and industry.
The Grandes Ecoles have over 230,000 students and cover a wide range of subject areas, from the sciences to the arts, including humanities, engineering, as well as literature, business and management and administration. They provide a very high standard of education and are highly selective, sometimes requiring a two-year preparatory course before a competitive entrance examination. Programmes of study range from three to five years depending on the level of entry.
The specialist schools offer high-level education and training in specific areas such as nursing, tourism, journalism or architecture. Programmes of study range from three to six years. Entrance is often selective.
English is by far the most popular language learned in France at all levels. It is studied by over 90 per cent of pupils at primary and secondary level. The UK remains the preferred English-speaking destination for the French. It is seen as the home country of the English language - the British accent is much preferred to the American and the Australian accents. The UK is also appreciated for its historical and geographical diversity, its eccentricity and its close proximity. Its increased accessibility makes it an easy destination for language stays and long weekends.
The UK is also the first destination for French EL tourism. It is chosen by 40 per cent of learners who go on a language stay abroad (compared with 28 per cent for Ireland, 20 per cent for Canada and USA and 9 per cent for Australia and Malta). France is also the top country for ELT visitors in the UK.
A parliamentary report published in 2004 (the Thelot report) acknowledged the deterioration of language ability among young French people and led to a reform of foreign language teaching in the French national education system. This reform was introduced in September 2005 and was implemented over a three-year period.
Unlike the UK where the higher education offer is provided mostly by universities, the French system offers a great variety of institutions and qualifications that makes comparisons difficult.
The LMD (Licence-Master-Doctorat) system introduced by French universities since 2002 following the Bologna Process implementation is intended to make the equivalence process easier. However, French students remain concerned about their qualifications not being recognised in the UK, even under the new LMD system and often ask questions about the UK’s acceptance of the LMD.
Since 2006, a number of universities, grandes ecoles and public research laboratories have grouped together to form “PRES” – research and higher education clusters. In 2011, there are 21 PRES across France. The main aims of the PRES are to increase international visibility of the partner institutions, to share research facilities and resources and to offer more coordinated research and training opportunities.
In 2007, the Pecresse law, also known as the law for the autonomy of universities, allowed public universities more liberty to manage their own budgets, HR and governance. In 2011, 90% of French universities have autonomous status. Like the PRES, this law aims to improve the international competitiveness of French universities.
The British Council France has one office in Paris. Our office is a back office and our education staff work to support joint education policy agreements between France and the UK including school links and partnerships. We also deliver Higher Education policy seminars. Our website www.britishcouncil.fr lays out our full education offer and our French language version of EducationUK gives extensive information on study opportunities in the UK.
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