Overview
- The French Department of Education has developed a national curriculum, called the Common Foundation of Knowledge, Skills and Culture.
- This national curriculum identifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for a student to be successful in his educational and personal life and as a future active citizen.
- French schools in Abu Dhabi adopt the generic system classification used in schools within France. They do not include Saturday schooling or half days on Wednesdays as still practiced in some schools in France.
Progression
- The schooling system is divided into 5 distinct stages, cycles 1 to 5, starting from the Kindergarten till Grade 12.
- Cycle 5, the final cycle, contains the last year of compulsory education (Seconde). Students typically extend study into Première if they intend to go to university and pursue an academic route.
- When extending into Première, three baccalaureat streams are available: professionnel, technologique and général, with Abu Dhabi French schools offering only the general. This track prepares students for higher education.
- The Baccalaureat Général has recently been revised in order to introduce more flexibility for students and to provide a more personalized educational experience. The Baccalaureat Général however, still includes compulsory and non-compulsory subjects.
|
School |
Cycle |
Age |
Year |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ecole Maternelle (Early School) |
1 (Early Learning) |
3-4 |
PS |
Petite Section |
|
|
4-5 |
MS |
Moyenne Section |
|||
|
5-6 |
GS |
Grande Section |
|||
|
Ecole Elemen-taire (Elemen-tary School) |
2 (Fundamental Learning) |
6-7 |
CP (1) |
Cours Preparatoire |
|
|
7-8 |
CE1 (2) |
Cours Elementaire |
|||
|
8-9 |
CE2 (3) |
Cours Elementaire |
|||
|
3 (Consolidation) |
9-10 |
CM1 (4) |
Cours Moyen 1 |
||
|
10-11 |
CM2 (5) |
Cours Moyen 2 |
|||
|
College (Middle School) |
11-12 |
6 eme (6) |
Sixieme |
||
|
4 (Development) |
12-13 |
5 eme (7) |
Cinquieme |
||
|
13-14 |
4 eme (8) |
Quatrieme |
|||
|
14-15 |
3 eme (9) |
Troisieme |
|||
|
Lycee (High School) |
5 |
“Introduction to Final” |
15-16 |
2 nde (10) |
Seconde |
|
Final |
16-17 |
1 ere (11) |
Premiere |
||
|
17-18 |
Terminale (12) |
Terminale |
|||
Assessments
- Statutory assessments are held at the start of the academic year, and are conducted in Grade 1 (Cours Preparatoire), Grade 2 (Cours Elementaire), Grade 4 (Cours Moyen 1), Grade 6 (Sixieme), and Grade 10 (Seconde).
- At the end of Grade 9 (Troisieme), students take four written assessments in French, Mathematics, History and Sciences, a presentation project and an interview. Students must meet the statutory requirements; however, student outcomes do not determine future educational options. Successful students are awarded the Diplome National du Brevet (DNB).
- At the end of Grade 12 (Terminale), students take the Baccalaureat Général, a national standardized assessment required to pursue higher education. Upon graduating, students are presented with one Baccalaureat certificate, detailing all subjects studied and their attainment in each.
Accreditation
- In order to be accredited as a French educational institution, schools outside of France are subject to inspection by the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE). This ensures compliance to the standards and expectations of the French educational system.
- Certification is granted for the whole school and is regularly updated through self-evaluation and inspection, as part of a five-year cycle. This is additional to the statutory inspection of all schools in Abu Dhabi.
Further Details
- More details on the French schooling system is available here.