9. French Lycée - Upper Secondary School

1. 9.1. Types of Lycée
2. 9.2. General/Technological Lycée
3. 9.3. Vocational/Professional Lycée
4. 9.4. Baccalaureat Exam
5. 9.5. School Choice

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9.2. Baccalaureat - General and Technological Lycée

Those pupils who attend a General/Technological Lycée study for the Baccalauréat (BAC), following which they can go on to university, or study for a Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS) or a Diplôme de Métiers d’art (DMA).

Pupils at certain specialised lycées can also undertake post-baccalaureate preparatory classes for entrance to prestigious higher education institutions, called grandes ecoles, where an entrance exam is normally required. These classes area called classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE).

Mainstream lycée education consists of three years of study, structured around two learning ‘cycles’, as follows:


Table: Cycles of Learning

Age	Cycle	Class
15-16	Cycle de détermination	2nde
16-17	Cycle terminal	1ere
17-18	Cycle terminal	Terminale (T)

The curriculum follows a broad general education in the first year, which allows pupils to develop their knowledge of and interest in a range of subjects, before they make a decision on greater specialisation.

In the second and third years pupils then divide into either the ‘general’ or ‘technological’ streams. If the performance of the pupil has been satisfactory, then they will be granted the choice of the stream and specialist area they wish to study.

However, you should not assume that you child has complete freedom as they may be refused admission to a particular stream or specialism if their class performance in the first year is not considered satisfactory.

Indeed, towards the end of the first year, some pupils maybe asked to transfer from the 'general' stream to the 'technological' one, or be asked to take the first year again, or even to leave lycée for vocational study.

The basic first year core curriculum for both streams is as follows:


Lycée – Year 1 Curriculum

Subject	Hours
French	4.5h
Maths	4h
Modern Lang	3h
History/Geog	3.5h
Physics/Chem	3.5h
Science	2h
Civics	0.5h
Physical Recreation	2h
Individual Study/Tuition	2h
Specialist Subjects	6h

It will be seen from the table that pupils study two 'specialist' subjects. These must be selected from a prescribed list in which they undertake three hours of study each week on each subject.

Some of these subjects serve as a useful pre-requisite for later specialisation, but selection of a particular subject does not necessarily limit the course of study that can be undertaken in the remaining two years.

Indeed, it is not unusual that pupils who start out in the first year on a planned course of study decide to change at the end of the first year, not only the proposed course of study, but the lycée itself!

The study of information technology in the first year has also been integrated into the curriculum, and pupils are expected to demonstrate an adequate level of knowledge in an exam process.

In the second and third years pupils start to specialise, although this should not be overstated, as they are required to continue to undertake a range of core subjects, notably French, two foreign languages, history/geography and mathematics.

Whilst the pupil is free to choose the stream into which they wish to proceed, the lycée will offer a formal recommendation at the end of the first year on the stream they consider most appropriate.

Students who elect to go into the 'general' stream select from one of three main specialist areas:

• Economics and Social Sciences
• Literature/Languages
• Sciences

In the 'Technological' stream pupils can specialise in one of four main areas:

• Medical Sciences (SMS)
• Industrial Sciences (STI)
• Laboratory Sciences (STL)
• Information Technology and Business Admin (STG)

There are also two agricultural streams (called (STAE)) that can be followed, and there are specific and oddly named ‘technological’ baccalaureates for hotel management, and applied arts and music and dance (called (TMD)).

The BAC is the general passport for admission to university with national written and oral papers organised in June of each year.

Those not getting the required mark may be awarded the Certificat de fin d’études secondaires (CFES), basically a secondary school leaving certificate, which attests to students having pursued a full secondary school education, but does not grant automatic admission to a university.

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