Lycée in the French school system

In France pupils study 3 years « au lycée » :

- «  2de », « seconde ». This class is also  « cycle de détermination »,

- « 1ère », « première » : « cycle terminal »,

- « terminale » : « cycle terminal ».

Children have between 30 & 40 hours of class « au lycée », their time schedule is also flexible.

There are two types of « lycée » in France  :

- "lycée général et technologique"

- "lycée professionnel"

Depending on the subjects your children choose at the end of the class of “3ème” they will study in a “lycée général et technologique”, or in a “lycée professionnel”.

The year of « seconde » is a first orientation as your children have to choose two new subjects “enseignements de determination” and one more option “option facultative”.  

At the end of this year, pupils choose the diploma they will take, they choose which “bac”, “baccalauréat” they will take .

This choice will be very heavy for the rest of their studies, depending on the “bac” they choose, they will have a wider choice. For example, they will be allowed to choose any kind of studies if they have a scientific bac, (even literature stydies), but the other way doesn’t work. If your children decide to go for “bac littéraire” they won’t be allowed to prepare some diplomas at university. So it’s very important to take enough time to understand what your children want to do, what they can do, what orientation is good or not.