France has a national education system that provides free compulsory education from ages 6 to 16, with the majority of children attending public primary and secondary schools. The education system places an emphasis on subjects like French, math, and history, as well as developing good communication skills at a young age. After secondary school, students can pursue higher education or vocational training, with the best students attending elite graduate schools to prepare for careers in government, education, and other fields.

1. {
BY:Renée

2. Languages spoken in France
 French
 French sign languages
 Spanish
 German
 Italian
 Catalan
 Flemish
 Dutch
France is the largest
country in Western
Europe and the third-
largest in Europe as a
whole.
Government Type
Republic

3.  In 2002, about 83% to 88% of
the population were
nominally Roman Catholic,
 About 2% were Protestant
 about 7% to 8%Jews
 About 4% subscribed to no
religion at all
The name "France"
comes from the
Latin Francia, which
means "country of
the Franks".
The capital of
France is Paris

4. Participation in education
(2008 figures )
Male Female Total
Primary (6
to 11 years)
99% 99% 98%
Secondary(
11 to 18
years)
98% 99% 98%

6. EDUCATION
Schooling is free and compulsory from
age 6 to 16, preschool is also free, but
not compulsory, from 2 to 6.
Nearly all children
enroll because the
French believe that
preschools are
important for
developing the
communication skills
for young children
school year starts in
early September

7. Public primary school
day starts at 8:30 or 9am,
has two-hour lunch break
around noon, and then
lasts until 4:30 or 5pm.
Children go to school on Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday, and have Wednesday,
Saturday , and Sunday off.

8.  College similar to
junior high school, last
four years. School goes
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
from Monday through
Friday, with a half day
on Wednesday.
Secondary education, lasting
seven years, is offered by
colleges and lycées (a French
public secondary school that
prepares students for the
university)

9.  After college, students
take an exam called the
brevet. Students then
have more than one
option they can follow:
continue on to high
school ( known as
lycées) or go to a trade
school to gain
experience in a specific
trade.
 French lycées involve a
full week of classes and
a large amount of
homework, all French
student are required to
study English.

10.  After secondary
education, students
take an exam to
determine whether
they may go on to
higher education
 The best students take
further preparatory
classes in order to
attend the grandes,
écoles where they
study for careers in
government, the
military, education, and
industry , engineering,
marketing, and

11.  Women are still less
educated than men:
female adult illiteracy
is sixty-four percent as
compared to thirty-
eight percent for males.
 Primary school
enrollment is eighty-six
percent for boys and
sixty-seven percent for
girls.

12.  Home Education
 A school inspector
inspects the home
schooled child once a
year.
 Home schooling in
France has been legal
since December 1998
 May require
homeschooled students
to be tested,
France
French law allows home
schooling officially but the
majority of French people do
not know they have this choice.

13. The following aspects of French
education may surprise you:
In theory, children must attend their
nearest school (unless having private
education) but in practice there are various
ways of getting a child into another school,
Schools make little use of
computers and all
homework must be
handwritten - on squared
paper; calculators are not
used until secondary school
(age 11).

14. School holidays are among the longest
in the world; summer holidays last
between 10 and 12 weeks.
Children are not
permitted to wear any
sign of religious affiliation
to school, e.g. crosses or
(Muslim) headscarves.
Homework isn't
common in
primary schools
but is onerous at
secondary level,
pupils having at
least two hours
homework each
day.
Children are
expected to bring a
lot of books home
each evening and
few schools
provide adequate
lockers.

15.  Children learn to sing
in primary school and
to read music , to play
the recorder and other
instruments in
secondary school.
 Few French
teachers speak
good English -
except English
teachers

16. Even though attendance is mandatory up
to the age of 16, about 150,000 students
leave school each year without a high
school diploma, many from the junior high
level.

17. Works Cited
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europ
e/France-RELIGIONS.html
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-
zone/europe/european-
union/france/facts/index.htm
http://0-
search.proquest.com.helin.uri.edu/docview/
222276861?accountid=2428
http://www.myhomeschoolingweb.com/pla
nning/laws/france/
http://www.parisvoice.com/practical-
paris/474-education-in-france