Two Curricula Compared
There are many similarities in the education systems of modern European states although each will have some distinguishing features. Those parents who wish their children to follow the French hybrid curriculum will enjoy the benefits of a bilingual education in French and English while preparing pupils to continue their education in the UK or in France and other countries that adopt either language. The following is aimed as an introduction to this hybrid curriculum.
The French School Curriculum
The French Government’s Common Core of Knowledge and Skills underpins the curriculum for primary and lower secondary education and sets out the minimum standards to be attained by all by the end of compulsory schooling. It is organised around seven key competencies:
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1. Command of the French language;
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2. Proficiency in a modern foreign language;
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3. The key elements of mathematics, scientific culture and technology;
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4. Mastery of ordinary information and communication skills;
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5. Humanist culture;
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6. Social and civic skills;
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7. Autonomy and initiative.
As many of the French pupils joining Albyn School will be returning to France, those following the hybrid curriculum will be assessed using the French system of assessment.
Core skills are assessed at the end of cycle 2 in CE2 (P3) and measure the acquisition of three competences: proficiency in the French language, basic mathematics, social and civic skills.
The second stage is assessed at the end of sixième (S1) where pupils are assessed at the end of cycle 3 in the seven competences.
There is a third and final assessment at the end of compulsory schooling at the end of cycle 4 usually in troisième (S2/3). The pupils sit an exam known as the Diplôme National du Brevet (DNB).
There are subject booklets that provide more detailed information about the curriculum in different stages of the School that can be obtained through the Admissions Department at Albyn School and more detailed information about the French curriculum can currently be found on the TOTAL French School website, rubrique “pédagogie”.
