STUDENTS coming into the first year of lycée - (roughly equivalent to the British sixth form) this month will find a new regime, after a raft of government reforms.
The changes, which are meant to prepare students better for life after school, follow ones made to primary schools from September 2008.
Former Education Minister Xavier Darcos originally planned to tackle the lycée starting from the 2009-10 school year, but reforms were put back owing to opposition from student and teachers’ unions.
Discussions with the unions followed and some controversial ideas were dropped, such as for half-year (semester) terms and a new modular system of study. Education Minister Luc Chatel says his “new lycée” for this year offers a more personalised approach, with better preparation for the future.
He promised parents that the reforms would “give better study and careers advice to each student, support them better through their school career and adapt the lycée to the modern day.”
He recently told La Tribune: “A lot of things are going to change, but without making the timetable any heavier; that was a fundamental goal.”
The changes are for the seconde (the first year of lycée) this year, with complementary ones to be brought in for première in a year’s time and then for terminale in the school year 2012-13. The main new aspects are:
Personalised support
This will involve two hours a week of support by a teacher in small groups. Depending on the student’s needs, it could mean extra academic support for those with difficulties or for the most gifted to push them to excel, or advice about study and careers choices. Mr Chatel says this will adapt lycée better to the students’ diverse needs.
Exploration studies
These classes, of at least one-and-a-half hours a week each, offer a taste of extra subjects on top of the main curriculum. They are meant to “awaken” the students and “sharpen their critical faculties” by introducing them to new ideas, Mr Chatel said. They are also meant to help them choose their career options better. One of the modules involves studying economics, which was formerly optional at lycée.
According to Mr Chatel, this will help the students understand the world better, especially in the light of the current economic crisis. They will choose between either “essential principles of economics and management” or “economic and social sciences”. The other option will be one of the following (in some cases two will be possible): a second economics module, biotechnology, creative arts, health and sociology, technological innovation, classical language and civilisation including either Latin or Greek language, literature and society, an extra foreign language, scientific methods and practices, engineering, or laboratory science. Alternatively to the choice of two modules described above, students can opt just to do one longer module of sport, design or circus skills.
Catch-up courses
To avoid (as far as possible) people having to redo years, there will be optional catch-up courses on Wednesdays and/or Saturdays or during holidays (most lycées have school on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, but not afternoons). Students will be recommended for them by teachers. They will focus on consolidating knowledge and improving study skills.
Bridging courses
These area courses are equivalent to two weeks’ work, and are aimed at students who decide towards the end of a year that they want to change the focus of their studies (eg. to work towards a professional baccalauréat instead of a general and technological one). They will involve extra Wednesday/Saturday/holiday classes to fill in gaps in knowledge in key areas so as to make a smooth changeover.
Tutors
If students wish, a staff member will be assigned to them as their personal tutor through lycée, with whom they can discuss study and career plans, in partnership with the careers adviser and their class teacher.
Modern languages to be studied in ‘skill groups’
Language studies in lycée will be done in a group of other people similar in level and needs (eg. perhaps focussing more on either written or oral work). Pupils will be able to change group during the year if necessary. This is said to be the best way to help students progress at their own speed to achieve a goal of skill in two modern foreign languages by the end of lycée.
For pupils going into troisième this year (the last one of collège), this important period includes planning for moving to lycée in a year’s time.
From around October, pupils need to start considering their grades, and their interests and aspirations, with input from the professeur principal (class teacher) and conseiller d'orientation-psychologue (careers adviser). The Onisep careers and study guide is handed out this term.
There are open days in lycées from January to March and you indicate preliminary plans (type of lycée/baccalauréat and preferred exploration studies) on a provisional form around this time.
The definitive version of this fiche navette (“shuttle form”) is then filled in in the third term, when you also fill in a demande d’affectation (request to go to a particular lycée). After a decisions by the school (and possible appeal processes), you are notified of having a place on July 1 and then immediately contact the school to enrol.
Most people go to the nearest lycée that offers the kind of baccalauréat studies they wish to do, though it is possible to ask to be considered for another one, depending on places available and certain priority rules.
School holidays 2010-11 (Dates are last day and first day back)
Vacances de la Toussaint: All zones, October 23 - November 4
Vacances de Noël: All zones,
December 18 - January 3, 2011
Vacances d’hiver:
Zone A: February 26 - March 14
Zone B: February 19 - March 7
Zone C: February 12 - February 28
Vacances de printemps:
Zone A: April 23 - May 9
Zone B: April 16 - May 2
Zone C: April 9 - April 26
Vacances d’été: All zones
July 2 - September 5
Find the zones on www.education.gouv.fr
