French High School

If a French middle school student passes a national exam they are invited to three years of high school. Upon entering high school students choose a track of study. Either they go for a language/literature track, a science/math track, or a mixture. The same legislation that is trying to reform French kindergarten is trying to reform the high schools to be more like the United States.

In France high school students are responsible for purchasing their own books. I was pretty shocked to learn about this, especially since University is nearly free. There are book scholarships for economically disadvantaged students but it still seems difficult to buy books in high school. Education prior to 18 is a gift from the state. It is in a countries best interest to have an educated population, and it seems like buying books is a bit of a hurdle.

Despite buying books, 80% of students receive the BAC. The BAC is roughly equivalent to the American high school diploma. Those who don’t go to high school or for some other reason don’t get the BAC receive education in a trade.

Perhaps it is my own cultural assumptions, but I don’t have any sense of school community in France. The schools here don’t have any school sponsored sports or dances. I have never seen anybody wearing school paraphernalia. Every class has a representative, but their isn’t a student government.