Commonly called the “Baccalauréat” or simply “Bac”, the French Baccalaureate is a high school diploma obtained upon completion of secondary studies. This national academic qualification gives you access to any French university.
There are 3 kinds of Baccalaureates:
‘Baccalauréat technologique’
‘Baccalauréat professionnel
‘Baccalauréat général’
In this post, I will focus on the last one which is the ‘Baccalauréat général’ since it’s the one I am taking. The first two types are made for students who want to pursue a career in a very specific field or quickly enter the working world while the third one offers a broader variety of subjects.
Table of contents:
The specialities
The “contrôle continu”
The final exams
My opinion
Bonus: A typical day as a French student
The specialities
In 2021, the French Baccalaureate reform drastically changed the examination system. Being a combination of ongoing assessments, which is basically the grade you get throughout the year (“contrôle continu”) and final exams, the French baccalaureate turns out to be quite demanding. It spreads on the two last years of high school called “Première” and “Terminale” (equivalent to grade 11/Year 12 and grade 12/Year13). Check this table to see the equivalence of grades in France, the UK and the US.
At the end of grade 10/Year 11, unlike IB students (International Baccalaureate) who are asked to choose 6 subjects to follow in the IB diploma (2 years course), French students as well as A levels students must choose three subjects called “spécialités” among the ones offered. Those subjects will each represent 4 hours of your timetable so you have to select them carefully. However, when you are passionate about a lot of things like I am, it’s very hard to make a choice. The 13 “spécialités” are:
Arts: a mix of artistic practice and art history
Economics and social sciences (SES): a multidisciplinary subject crossing sociology, economics, and politics
Biology-ecology: the study of environments, biodiversity, and interactions within an ecosystem.
Physical education & sports culture: sports practice and theory
History, geography, geopolitics, and Political science (HGGSP): A multidisciplinary subject tackling international relations and a study of the contemporary world thanks to various perspectives
Humanities, literature, and philosophy (HLP): A glimpse into the philosophical reflections of humankind.
Foreign languages and literature: Improve your skills in a foreign language
Ancient Languages, literature, and culture: Consolidate your knowledge of ancient languages and culture (Greek and Latin)
Mathematics: an in-depth study of mathematical notions
Digital technology and computer science (NSI) discovery of computer science concepts and coding methods
Physics and chemistry: do I have to explain?
Engineering (SI): acquiring essential skills for the engineering field: innovation, problem-solving…
Biology + geology (SVT): In French, it translates to “sciences of life and Earth”. You get the idea.
As a student who follows the French baccalaureate, I personally opted for Mathematics, Foreign Languages (English) and History, geography, geopolitics, and Political science.
-Organization of all the subjects of the French baccalaureate, made by the French department of Education
The “contrôle continu”
When choosing your three specialities, you must make sure that the combination of subjects is coherent with your career choice.
In grade 11/Year 11, you must – unfortunately- drop one of your three specialities. The two subjects pursued will now represent up to 6 hours of your timetable!
Moreover, for two years, your average in core subjects which are commonly called the “tronc commun” and in the subject you abandoned are considered for the French Baccalaureate. The “tronc commun” takes up 16 hours per week and is similar for all students, regardless of their speciality choice. It is composed of History & Geography, Physical education, Science, Languages and French Literature (replaced in Grade 12/ Terminale by a philosophy course). To gain bonus points on the “contrôle continu”, students can select one or two optional subjects such as Law and International Studies, Foreign language, Latin, Greek, Advanced math, Complementary math, or Art.
Ongoing assessments force you to work consistently as they will determine 40% of your final grade.
Here is a graph made by the French Department of Education on the distribution of every component of the baccalaureate.
The final exams
In total, there are only six final examinations that make for up 60% of your final baccalaureate score
In Grade 11/Year 12/Première:
French literature exam in June consists of two tests: the first one is writing and the second one is oral
The first Exam session is held in March is composed of two tests for your two specialities. Those tests can be written, oral or lab work. They generally last from two to four hours.
The second exam session is in June: Philosophy exam and “Grand oral” (oral test about a personal project linked to a speciality)
Again, unlike the IB Diploma that asks you a minimum of 24 out of 45, to obtain the French Baccalaureate, you need an average of at least 10 out of 20. However, as long as you have a minimum of 12 or above, you will obtain honours:
From 12 to 14 = “Assez bien” (satisfactory)
From 14 to 16 = “Bien” (good)
16 and above = “Très Bien” (Very well)
18 out of 20 or higher = “felicitations du jury” which are the highest and rarest honours given by the examinators
Calendar of the final exams of the French Baccalaureate, made by the French Department of Education
My opinion:
In my opinion, combining ongoing assessments and final examinations benefits students. It prevents them from pressuring themselves too much about ONE exam on ONE day. Consequently, there’s always a chance to make up for a bad grade. Furthermore, combining subjects freely enables students to have more diverse profiles that correspond to their interests. For instance, you can choose to study Math, Humanities, and Art. This was completely new for French students, who were used to having three predetermined pathways (=” filières”) called respectively S, ES, and L for Scientific, Economic, and Literary.
On the other hand, choosing only 3 specialities can be very difficult especially if you like many things or if you are not sure about your future career. Selecting subjects that will influence your entire studies as early as 15 can be an extremely hard choice. Besides, many students end up in Grade 12 (Terminale) with incoherent subjects for the University they’re aiming at, mostly due to the lack of information because of the newness of the reform. Moreover, I find regrettable the fact that math is no longer a component of core subjects because it’s a fundamental course, that many students opt for. Therefore, it only leaves two spots open for “real” speciality choices.
In a nutshell, I believe this reform is rather interesting. It leaves more freedom to students and introduces new and exciting specialities that fit our interests, but the novelty of it can be disturbing even though universities have now tried to adapt and try to make their speciality's requirements clearer.
Bonus: A day as a French student
Our school days are rather busy, we usually start school at 8 or 9 a.m. and finish at 5 or 7 p.m. The morning period is interrupted by a 15-minute break, as well as the afternoon period. Lunch Break begins at 12: 30 and lasts 1 hour and a half. Each day, we have at least one speciality course, therefore the rest of the classes are only core subjects and my optional courses. Each course generally lasts 55 minutes or 1h50.
After school, students either attend an extracurricular activity or go straight home to do their homework, which duration is variable – often 1 or 2 hours.
