Introduction to Further and Higher Education in France

If you’re thinking of moving and living in France with kids of any age, the likelihood is that you’ll have further education in your sights in some shape or form. While some kids who move to France with their parents, even when they’re small, often opt to go back to the UK to go to university or to avail of further education, it’s nice to know what options are open to those kids who decide to stay.

Whatever age your kids are right now, it’s nice to know the long-term options should they choose to continue their studies beyond high school in France.

The Impact of Lycée on Education Choices

In many ways, in France, what happens in high school or Lycée determines which further or higher education option a child takes. As we mentioned in our previous article, at Lycée, a student will either follow a general Baccalauréat or move into a more specialist, job-oriented area of study.

Classes Préparatoires for Universities

In addition to this type of streaming, some of the best and largest lycées in France also offer what are called classes préparatoires (or prépas), which are essentially a two-year ‘training programme’ for students aiming to secure places at top universities. This two-year programme effectively represents the first two years of higher education. It enables students to work intensively, typically in small groups, thereby increasing their chances of successful admission to one of France’s highly esteemed grandes écoles.

Vocational Training Through BTS

Some Lycées also offer students the opportunity to pursue a qualification equivalent to a Higher National Diploma after completing the Baccalauréat. In France, these courses are known as Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS). Once again, these courses are typically pretty intense, with small classes, and tend to cover subjects such as mechanics, secretarial studies, or commerce.

Universities and Private Institutes in France

Over 80 universities and several private institutions in France have the authority to award degrees. Universities in France provide degree-level education, as well as two-year diplomas (provided by Institut Universitaire de Technologie) and business qualifications, which fall under the category of Instituts d’Administration des Entreprises (business schools), many of which are private.

Degree Types and Structure

There are three types of degrees in France: the Licence, a three-year qualification; the Master’s, a five-year course; and Doctorates, which are eight or more years long. It’s quite common in France for people to refer to their level of qualification as BAC +3 or BAC +5, indicating the number of years of education they have undertaken after obtaining the Baccalauréat.

The French Grading System

The entire French education system uses a grading scale of 20 out of 20, with 10 as the passing grade. Marks of 12 or above are graded into one of three categories of mention: Assez bien, Bien, and Très Bien (TB), with only a tiny percentage of students receiving the latter.

The Prestige of Les Grandes Écoles

As an alternative to university for the crème de la crème of students, there are the Les Grandes Écoles, sometimes called ‘super-universities’ in France, which have strictly limited spaces and highly respected reputations. Such schools include the Ecole Polytechnique, which has been nicknamed ‘X’ and is a school of public engineering; others are the ENA, the Ecole Normale d’Administration, which is geared up to produce high-ranking civil servants and Ecole Normale Supérieure, which, in France, is the highest rated establishment for the arts.

Funding and Financial Support

When it comes to funding, in relation to the UK, university fees in France are extremely low, and France still runs a means-tested grant system to help students with their accommodation and living expenses.

Navigating the French Education System

Although the higher and further education system in France may seem more complex than the system in the UK, there are plenty of sources of help to make sure your kids make the right decisions. This is particularly true for Lycée students, who will be guided by both their principal teachers and career advisors in making the best individual choices based on their results and hopes and dreams for the future.

Where to Live for Education Opportunities

If you’re planning to move to France with children and considering higher education, you may decide to relocate to a large city with numerous schools and family-friendly amenities. Looking for a city pied-a-terre in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux or Montpellier, check out our a la carte bespoke service. And if you do, remember to carefully research Visas and travel insurance once they are set up in France.