Education and studies

I'll admit my posts here won't be as regular as planned, but I have a very good reason. My schedule is always very busy, as I am lucky enough to be following one of the most prestigious - but also the most demanding - literature courses in France, I give you : the prépa littéraire.


The classe préparatoire is a two-year course taken after students have passed their baccalauréat, the French equivalent for British A-levels. You have different types of prépa : it can be centred around Maths, Economics, Physics or lLterature. As I took a bac littéraire (you have three different bacs, not counting the professional field : L [literature], S [maths, science, physics] and ES [economics]), I mainly studied French literature, languages and Philosophy, so I was better prepared for a prépa littéraire.


Most of you will deduce that this classe préparatoire 'prepares' students for something. Indeed, students who follow this course will take the Ecole Normale Supérieure examination, one of the best french schools. I'll admit its popularity is mainly due to the fact that once you get in, you are payed to study there... but it is also renowned for the quality of the teaching, and if you survive the prépa and the exams, you are sure to have a successful career.


The reason why this course is so prestigious is that it is extremely hard to get a place. You have to be a top student all through your last year of secondary school (accurately named terminale) and have an 'interesting' profile. For example, I know for a fact that I got in because I am bilingual and that I studied German and Latin for 8 years. But then you have different levels of classe prépa, depending on the school. Most of the Parisian ones only accept you if you get straight-As in every subjects, and others are more laid-back. The most well-known prépas - and the first to be established - are the ones at the lycées Louis-le-Grand and Henri IV, in the center of Paris, near the Sorbonne.


Prépas are extremely demanding : even though it is littéraire, we study History and Geography as well as French, Philosophy and two languages. The 30-hour-a-week schedule is rendered even more difficult by the amount of work that is assigned. I am lucky to be in a good prépa, but not one of the top ones, so the pressure is not as important as the one that 'the nation's elite' suffers from.


The French education system is complex and differs a great deal from the English and American one. I tried to be as clear and succinct as possible, but I have a great deal to say on the subject, so expect a few more school-related posts to come!


Bonne soirée !