Les concours

Long time no blog.

As the title of this post indicates, I was planning to write something about the gruesome end-of-prépa exams which kept me, as well as about 3 000 other students, busy these last few months.

My first draft looked like this:

“Like every other student in Europe, during these last two months I was slowly crushed by the burden of revisions. For what? For just about the biggest deal there can be in the world of exams. After three years of prépa, I spent a week in a tower block along with around 3 000 hyped-up students taking the infamous concours. This was my last shot at getting in to the ENS, simply the best university there is in France – even though it is considered the best because students actually get paid to attend. Three years leading a near-to-cloistered life, with diminished leisure time, extreme stress and never-ending work. Three years of intense concentration and preparation in view of the concours. As one of my classmates said, “Tout ça pour ça”.”

I think you can tell how bitter I was. Indeed, I “failed” again. Let’s be clear, the concours only takes 30 students per section, so most us, even the best, fail. However, to make you feel a bit better, the jury provides you with an honorific title, “sous-admissible”. Kind of, “Well done but not there yet.”

Anyhow, I just needed a little time to take it all in. In addition to the ENS, I had sent an application to other good schools, and it turns out what I might be doing in September may be far better – and far more suited to my career plans – than the ENS, as well as less elitist.

But the aim of this post was not to ramble about my scholarly achievements (or lack of). Between my first draft and this final version, some things are unchanged.

Yes, the French school system is excellent. We have all studied Latin and Philosophy, whatever our curriculum, and have all been provided with solid general knowledge.

But it pits all of us against each other. These three years have been a battle of egos, with tears, snide comments and backstabbing galore. Even now I am out of that system, oh the dreaded meet-the-old-students evenings where everyone has to prove that they have done better than their neighbour! I was speaking to a friend recently, who refused to go the most prestigious prépa of all, Henri IV, because she felt she was emotionally incapable of dealing with the atmosphere. Said friend is now studying something she loves, and has just spent a year abroad. But she still, like all of us, has to submit to the interrogatoire: whenever we are with former classmates, there is an unspoken competition between us. Where did you go after your bac? – and not what did you study.

So that’s it. The French system is pressure-inducing, but we are all making it worse. Don’t get me started on people publishing their exam results on Facebook so that everyone can see… then people assume you didn’t do well, when actually you are not much of a bragger. It is a race to the top, to the best lycée, to the best prépa, to the best school and to the best job. A load of old stereotypes, but with the multiplication of management and business schools, extreme competition and peer pressure is seen as one of the usual aspects of education.

This rant won’t change anything. I just think that France has a problem in its schooling system. I wish that we could all have a more balanced approach to studying, according to which what we are studying is more important than where. That people would ask questions such as, Do you enjoy what you are studying? Do you feel you are learning interesting things? Are your lessons making you feel like you are getting closer to your dream job?

I know this sounds idealistic. I am not wishing to “bring the magic back in learning”, which sounds ridiculous. There is no magic. It is hard work. But when done properly, and humanly, it pays. Maybe not in the way you planned. Trust me, I have known deception BIG TIME despite being a good student. But in the end, it always pays. Whatever school you have been to.

Here we go again

No English word is able to convey the bustling, rustling atmosphere which surrounds the rentrée des classes. This particular event has become a concept in itself, neigh, a complete way of life, requiring much planning and plotting - as well as a distinct publicity stunt. Fail to make the right impression on D-day, and resolve to hang your head in shame the whole year round. Exaggeration? I am sorry to say that it is not.

Of course, when the regular imperatives are coupled with extensive homework and holiday reads, as it is the case in prépa, be warned not to take it all too seriously. French people like to start things du bon pied, and when we know how important education is in the French system, this also applies to the school year. Resolutions, workplans, alarmingly stern first-day-of-school pep talks (in which one can often detect a slight political reference, cliché, anyone?), the works. If you are the type of student who enjoys sizing up the competition on the first day of term (in opposition to sizing up the guys, the normal thing to do - understand, what my friends and I do - when you are a 'summer is over' teenager who is already bored to death by the endless talk of 'discipline', 'punctuality' and 'efficiency'), then good for you. But you probably need a(nother) holiday.

So what, you're thinking, same thing whatever the country. Not exactly. I just think that we have come to an age where we are perfectly capable of pressuring ourselves, thank you very much, and do not need teachers to drill their doctrines into our already half-full skulls. I'll admit it is nice of them to care, really, and some give rather pertinent advice. But no one should leave the classroom trembling after the teacher has boomed, 'If you feel out of place, then you are not meant to be here. Go home.' Admittedly, no one did. But should personal determination be acquired through intimidation? This sort of treatment creates competitive, I-am-going-to-crush-them-all student-types. Very healthy. 

Yes, the French school system is efficient. The country produces well-read, cultured and media-savvy beings. Some of my closest friends belong to that group. But believe me, it ain't easy in day-to-day life. 'You haven't read Dante?' What, are you going to tell me to go home too?!

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 !