Moving to france!
I'm 16 and moving to france in March. I have no idea what I'm going to do about high school as it's completely different there? Their high school is only 3/4 years long and they work towards a baccalaureate. Ive always wanted to be a lawyer and i have no idea how its going to pan out. Can someone let me know if french high schools are ok? I'm terrified. I'd like some to tell me about the unis out there too?? I've tried the websites but my french is god awful.
stay groovy, Chloe marie x
stay groovy, Chloe marie x
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take me with you 
I've been to one on an exchange and the workload is intense but very interesting! I think you shall enjoy it!
I've been to one on an exchange and the workload is intense but very interesting! I think you shall enjoy it!
Original post by CheeseIsVeg
take me with you
I've been to one on an exchange and the workload is intense but very interesting! I think you shall enjoy it!
I've been to one on an exchange and the workload is intense but very interesting! I think you shall enjoy it!
I hope so!!
Original post by Moura
why are you doing that?
Doing what? Moving to france???
Original post by Chloemarie2205
Doing what? Moving to france???
yes
I'm moving from England, my father got offered a job out there. I just want to be able to get straight into school once I'm there. Such a night mare. I can't wait for the sun though.
Original post by Moura
yes
My father got offered a better job out there so he took it.
Original post by Chloemarie2205
My father got offered a better job out there so he took it.
Oh ok, fair enough
Well I can't comment on the quality of teaching as that depends on the school, but the French bac is supposed to be pretty hard... you choose a different stream depending on your interests, have a look here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaur%C3%A9at#Content
As for the universities... I would recommend coming back to England for that
A plus side is the cost of French universities (the non-private ones) as they are basically free compared to our fees (there are some costs)... but a lot of people have issues with the fac at French unis... French bureaucracy is the worst... just make sure you do your research ... there is also something called "grandes écoles" but I never really understood that despite having it explained quite a few times, I think they are private universities, have a look into itDo you speak French already?
You may have to go to the Ministry of Education in order to equate your UK studies before you get into a French school. I had to do this when I moved from the UK to Romania, though not when I moved from Romania to the UK (which may have been because my Romanian education covered every single subject ever so I did not need anything in particular to go to school in the UK, while my UK education was so different and had way less subjects than my Romanian education, so it had to be equated before I started my last year of the Baccalaureate).
It is true high school only lasts for three years in France. The catch is that high school lasts from what are years 10-13 in the UK (ages 15-18), so when you will get to France, you will be in eleventh grade (a.k.a. year 12), meaning a year of the Baccalaureate material will have been taught to your classmates already. As such, make sure to ask for notes from your classmates!
Good luck with the language.
Also, you could go to university in either the UK or France if you want, it does not have to be a French university.
Best of luck to you, OP! Living in another country is indeed a worthwhile experience, though it will not be all roses at times. 
It is true high school only lasts for three years in France. The catch is that high school lasts from what are years 10-13 in the UK (ages 15-18), so when you will get to France, you will be in eleventh grade (a.k.a. year 12), meaning a year of the Baccalaureate material will have been taught to your classmates already. As such, make sure to ask for notes from your classmates!
Good luck with the language.
Also, you could go to university in either the UK or France if you want, it does not have to be a French university.
Best of luck to you, OP!
Living in another country is indeed a worthwhile experience, though it will not be all roses at times. Original post by Moura
Oh ok, fair enough
Well I can't comment on the quality of teaching as that depends on the school, but the French bac is supposed to be pretty hard... you choose a different stream depending on your interests, have a look here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaur%C3%A9at#Content
As for the universities... I would recommend coming back to England for that A plus side is the cost of French universities (the non-private ones) as they are basically free compared to our fees (there are some costs)... but a lot of people have issues with the fac at French unis... French bureaucracy is the worst... just make sure you do your research ... there is also something called "grandes écoles" but I never really understood that despite having it explained quite a few times, I think they are private universities, have a look into it
Do you speak French already?
Well I can't comment on the quality of teaching as that depends on the school, but the French bac is supposed to be pretty hard... you choose a different stream depending on your interests, have a look here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaur%C3%A9at#Content
As for the universities... I would recommend coming back to England for that
A plus side is the cost of French universities (the non-private ones) as they are basically free compared to our fees (there are some costs)... but a lot of people have issues with the fac at French unis... French bureaucracy is the worst... just make sure you do your research ... there is also something called "grandes écoles" but I never really understood that despite having it explained quite a few times, I think they are private universities, have a look into itDo you speak French already?
Ah I see. Thanks for that. Hm a little, not fluent whatsoever, but I know enough to get me by. This is why I'm dreading school, I hope I'm not going to be stuck at the back of the class and ignored, I wont be impressed.
Original post by Michiyo
You may have to go to the Ministry of Education in order to equate your UK studies before you get into a French school. I had to do this when I moved from the UK to Romania, though not when I moved from Romania to the UK (which may have been because my Romanian education covered every single subject ever so I did not need anything in particular to go to school in the UK, while my UK education was so different and had way less subjects than my Romanian education, so it had to be equated before I started my last year of the Baccalaureate).
It is true high school only lasts for three years in France. The catch is that high school lasts from what are years 10-13 in the UK (ages 15-18), so when you will get to France, you will be in eleventh grade (a.k.a. year 12), meaning a year of the Baccalaureate material will have been taught to your classmates already. As such, make sure to ask for notes from your classmates!
Good luck with the language.
Also, you could go to university in either the UK or France if you want, it does not have to be a French university.
Best of luck to you, OP! Living in another country is indeed a worthwhile experience, though it will not be all roses at times.
It is true high school only lasts for three years in France. The catch is that high school lasts from what are years 10-13 in the UK (ages 15-18), so when you will get to France, you will be in eleventh grade (a.k.a. year 12), meaning a year of the Baccalaureate material will have been taught to your classmates already. As such, make sure to ask for notes from your classmates!
Good luck with the language.
Also, you could go to university in either the UK or France if you want, it does not have to be a French university.
Best of luck to you, OP!
Living in another country is indeed a worthwhile experience, though it will not be all roses at times. Im terrified!!! Do you think they'll put me back a year so i can catch up? I don't mind really, if it means I have the baccalaureate in my pocket to use.
I studied at an international school that followed the French curriculum, and I'm studying Law at a university in France, so feel free to ask any questions.
The baccalaureate is very difficult, however it's good in the sense that it provides you with a broad education. It's not like A Levels where you pick 3/4 subjects. You have to pick a 'stream', which could be science,literature or economic and social sciences. But for example, even if you pick the science stream, you still have to take non-science subjects- it's just that they make up a lesser proportion of your overall score out of 20. Philosophy is also compulsory across all the streams.
Regarding university, I'd recommend you to study Law at a UK university, especially if you wish to return there to practice. The quality is probably better there. There are some good universities for Law here also, such as Panthéon Assas, Paris-Sud..
The baccalaureate is very difficult, however it's good in the sense that it provides you with a broad education. It's not like A Levels where you pick 3/4 subjects. You have to pick a 'stream', which could be science,literature or economic and social sciences. But for example, even if you pick the science stream, you still have to take non-science subjects- it's just that they make up a lesser proportion of your overall score out of 20. Philosophy is also compulsory across all the streams.
Regarding university, I'd recommend you to study Law at a UK university, especially if you wish to return there to practice. The quality is probably better there. There are some good universities for Law here also, such as Panthéon Assas, Paris-Sud..
Original post by Chloemarie2205
Ah I see. Thanks for that. Hm a little, not fluent whatsoever, but I know enough to get me by. This is why I'm dreading school, I hope I'm not going to be stuck at the back of the class and ignored, I wont be impressed.
Just try and be really positive and friendly and hopefully they will play nice. The younger generation are generally quite nice towards Brits even if they can't speak English and they'll be interested by you
I would say practise your French as much as you can (buy grammar books etc.) and download Duolinguo it's an app and it's super helpful.
Original post by childofthesun
Regarding university, I'd recommend you to study Law at a UK university, especially if you wish to return there to practice. The quality is probably better there. There are some good universities for Law here also, such as Panthéon Assas, Paris-Sud..
Regarding university, I'd recommend you to study Law at a UK university, especially if you wish to return there to practice. The quality is probably better there. There are some good universities for Law here also, such as Panthéon Assas, Paris-Sud..
prsom
Original post by Palmyra
prsom
Original post by Chloemarie2205
I'm 16 and moving to france in March. I have no idea what I'm going to do about high school as it's completely different there? Their high school is only 3/4 years long and they work towards a baccalaureate. Ive always wanted to be a lawyer and i have no idea how its going to pan out. Can someone let me know if french high schools are ok? I'm terrified. I'd like some to tell me about the unis out there too?? I've tried the websites but my french is god awful.
stay groovy, Chloe marie x
stay groovy, Chloe marie x
I'm French so feel free to ask me more questions. We only have three years of high school yes. I work toward a french baccalaureate and not a levels so i can't really compare but i think it's harder in France. You have a LOT of subjects (French, English, PET, Spanish or German, science, philosophy...) so it's really challenging. Do you know which "filiere" you're going to choose yet? Also, each high school is different. Some are excellent and some are pretty terrible. It depends. To study law after the bac, it's very different from the UK, there are no selections for regular courses at uni so a lot of people dropout because they can't cope with the workload. So in a sense there is a selection. Natural selection. Some univeristies are really good for law that being said. La Sorbonne, Assas, Bordeaux, Aix-Marseilles...
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by childofthesun
Actually, I disagree with your Anglocentric notion of university virtue; many rankings don't take account of the fact that many French academics affiliate their work to the research institutions that fund them (and not the universities to which they belong) - thus French universities don't do as well in rankings that use research as a metric (also, everyone in France knows Sorbonne isn't very good - yet it ranks highly).
Original post by Palmyra
Actually, I disagree with your Anglocentric notion of university virtue; many rankings don't take account of the fact that many French academics affiliate their work to the research institutions that fund them (and not the universities to which they belong) - thus French universities don't do as well in rankings that use research as a metric (also, everyone in France knows Sorbonne isn't very good - yet it ranks highly).
It's true, Assas is probably the best, not La Sorbonne but i do think education is better in the UK, at least for law undergrad.
Original post by Cecyl01
It's true, Assas is probably the best, not La Sorbonne but i do think education is better in the UK, at least for law undergrad.
Na Assas is very overrated, it lets in very mediocre students then gets rid of 70% of them after the first year.
Its only saving grace is that you could call it Bashar al-Assas
But yes, UK universities are far better.
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