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What Makes the French SCHOOL System So Unique?





At the beginning of September, France is back to school for two reasons: the start of the new school year and the start of the literary season. In this video, we'll be talking about the education system, with a quick look at the history of school and school vacations in France. Welcome to a new episode of Learn French vocabulary with the news, designed to enrich your vocabulary and improve your listening comprehension!



The amazing French holidays


Let's start with what the whole world envies us, and more specifically school vacations. But they haven't always existed. It was only in the 13th century that children enjoyed their first vacations, but be warned, they were not all restful.


They were requisitioned to take part in harvesting and grape-picking. In those days, each school had its own rules. It was under Napoleon that vacation periods became fixed, with the start of the new school year at the beginning of October.


But the big changes came in the 20th century, when school vacations followed those of parents and were zoned. Yes, there are 3 vacation zones in France: zones A, B and C. Why, to avoid interminable traffic jams on the roads and extend the tourist seasons.



history of the French holidays


French education system evolution!


Alas, the vacations are always too short and it's already time to get back to school, or back to work for adults. The French school system, now known as éducation nationale, is a system that was built over time.


You have to go back to the 8th century and Charlemagne to find its premices. In fact, Charlemagne is often wrongly credited with inventing the school, but that's not quite the case. France Gall and her famous song Sacré Charlemagne are to blame.


The idea of education for all was born during the French Revolution, with the aim of emancipating citizens. The gradual introduction of schooling for girls soon followed under Napoleon III.


Other major changes occurred at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century respectively, as education became public, secular, free and compulsory, and no longer content with instruction but with shaping citizens, in other words, teaching knowledge as well as a way of thinking. It was at this point that the Instruction Nationale became the Education Nationale.



Back to school period in France


Back to school


Let's go back to 2024. This week, no fewer than 12 million pupils, divided between nursery, primary, secondary and high school, will be back in school. There will be a few new features to shake things up.


The first is a trial ban on the use of telephones in certain schools, renamed the “digital break”, while the second is the return of uniforms in less than 100 schools. Uniforms had been abandoned in 1968 following student demonstrations. As far as universities are concerned, the start of the academic year runs from September to November, depending on the university and career. But don't worry, the next vacation starts 6 weeks from now. Ain't life grand?



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