Guides and definitions
How does school work in France?
In short
In France, education is compulsory from 3 to 16, with an obligation to remain in training until 18. State school is free and secular. The path runs from nursery school to primary school, then to collège and lycée.
Three adjectives sum up the school of the Republic: free, secular, compulsory. Each has a practical consequence, and the exam mostly checks that you know which, in particular the difference between compulsory education and attending an institution.
Free, secular, compulsory
State education is free: no tuition fees, no registration charges. It is secular: the curricula belong to no religion, teachers are bound to neutrality, and pupils may not wear conspicuous religious symbols. Education, finally, is compulsory from 3 to 16. The nuance matters: it is education that is compulsory, not necessarily school; home education remains possible, but by authorisation and under supervision. Since 2020, an obligation to remain in training has extended this framework to 18.
The school path
The path begins at nursery school, from the age of 3, then continues at primary school for five years. Next comes collège, over four years, which ends with the national brevet diploma. Lycée, over three years, leads to the baccalauréat, in a general, technological or vocational form. The baccalauréat opens access to higher education. At every stage, support schemes exist for pupils who arrive part-way through their schooling or who do not yet have a command of French.
Registering a child
Registration for nursery and primary school is done at the town hall of the home commune, which allocates the school according to the catchment area. For collège and lycée, allocation is handled by the education authority. You generally need to provide proof of address, the family record book and vaccination documents. Parents are involved in the life of the school: meetings, class councils and elected representatives are part of the ordinary workings of the French school.
The place of parents and the available support
The French school involves families in how it works. Each year parents elect representatives who sit on the school council or the board of governors, and they are seen individually to review their child's schooling. Several forms of financial support also accompany schooling. The back-to-school allowance is paid, subject to means, for children in education. Grants exist at collège and lycée. The canteen, school transport and after-school activities are often billed on a scale calculated from family income. These schemes are applied for through the caisse d'allocations familiales, the school or the town hall depending on the case.
Worth remembering
- Education compulsory from 3 to 16, training compulsory until 18.
- State school is free and secular: no conspicuous religious symbols for pupils.
- Registration for nursery and primary school at the town hall of your home commune.
Frequently asked questions
Is school compulsory, or education?
Education. It most often goes through school, but home education remains possible by authorisation and under the supervision of the administration.
Can a foreign child go to school?
Yes. The right to education applies to every child present on French territory, whatever the administrative situation of the parents.
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