Secondary school

Secondary school comprises Middle School (“collège”) and High School (“lycée”), usually from age 11 to 18.

The LFIR is reopening the middle school in 2023, starting with the first year (children aged 11 or French 6ème / US grade 6 / UK year 7). The following grades will reopen as students progress through secondary school.

This first year will be taught in-person with material provided by the CNED, the French government provider of distance learning courses. LFIR teachers will adapt and teach the material in class, while CNED teachers will mark students’ assignments.

SECONDARY CURRICULUM

According to the French Ministry of Education, the curriculum is based on the Common Core of Knowledge, Skills and Culture taught throughout elementary and secondary school. It is articulated around five domains:

languages to think and communicate
methods and tools for learning
training of the individual and the citizen
natural and technical systems
representations of the World and of human activity

MIDDLE SCHOOL (COLLÈGE)

The first year of middle school is a year of consolidation and transition, during which students reinforce the knowledge and skills acquired in primary school, and continue to learn to study more independently. From the second to the fourth year, students deepen their understanding, knowledge and skills in various subjects. Middle school education seeks to foster not only reasoning and intellectual reflection, but also observation, experimentation, sensitivity, motor skills and creative imagination.

Class times in middle school are approximately divided between the following subjects :

HIGH SCHOOL (LYCÉE)

High school also starts with a year of consolidation and transition designed to ensure a strong foundation of general education, and to support students in their choices for the final years of secondary education.

In the second and third years, the curriculum includes core, specialty and optional subjects.

Core subjects include French, other modern languages, philosophy, history-geography, science, physical education, and civic and moral education.

In addition, two to three specialty subjects enable students to gradually acquire the specific knowledge, language and skills they will need to pursue their chosen path in higher education.

High school ends with the renowned Baccalauréat exam, which allows students to join the best Universities across the World.