Are French classes smaller?
I have heard that class sizes in France are smaller than the UK. Is it true? J.B.
Yes and no - class sizes are slightly smaller in France on average than in the UK in primary school, and much smaller in certain primary school classes, following a measure by the Macron government which started this rentrée. However, secondary school classes are on average smaller in the UK.
A spokesman for the Unsa teaching union said the average size in primary schools is about 25. Since the rentrée, in certain less socially advantaged areas, called zones d’éducation prioritaire, classes at CP level (the first year of elementary school and first year of obligatory schooling – though this is planned to drop to age three next year) classes have been cut in two, so there are 12 pupils per class.
This is known as dédoublement and has been welcomed in theory, though some schools are reportedly having difficulty in terms of where to teach the separate classes and questions were raised about the availability of teachers for the new posts. The smaller sizes will continue to apply in CP and also the following year, CE1. Unsa said teachers say children are learning better thanks to the smaller size.
Primary teaching union SNUipp-FSU said the latest figures across the whole of primary school from age three to 10 were 23 per class, but too many were over 25 and in maternelle many have more than 30. They favour a general target of 20 in all classes in éducation prioritaire, rather than certain classes being restricted to 12.
A spokesman said: “The new measures have allowed for smaller classes but as few teaching posts have been created for that, it means staff have been taken away from some other classes – ‘extra teachers’ who had been helping with projects in schools, in maternelle, in rural areas…”
Recent government figures for secondary show that there are also 25 pupils on average in collège (at this stage sizes are marginally higher on average in private as opposed to state schools – 24 and 26). In lycée they are 30 in state schools and 27 in private schools. Classes are reportedly often larger for science Bacs than literary ones, though there are plans aimed at evening this out.
Recent UK government class size figures (state and private combined) show there are an average 27 pupils in a primary school class and 21 in secondary.
There are set legal limits on infant school classes, which are deemed to be “large” if there are more than 30 (this is allowed only under certain exceptions).
