In France a baccalauréat opens up some bright employment or educational opportunities for the students. That is one reason why lycee entrance competition is pretty high. France education has several dissimilarities to other countries’ educational systems. Let’s focus on the ins and outs of baccalauréat and see, how it works and how the educational process is organized.
First of all it has to be stated that sitting a lycee course is not mandatory for French students. They may leave the school finishing their course of primary education. Still, many students choose to sit for baccalauréat, as it gives them some vital advantages in life. One of such advantages is meeting academic requirements of universities. Most universities demand baccalauréat degree from their entrants.
Another vital baccalauréat advantage is the following: it provides the students with deep knowledge on the chosen subjects. baccalauréat studies are more focused on the subjects chosen by the students. Now, there are three main types of baccalauréat in the education system of France. Those include the baccalauréat technologique (technological baccalaureate), the baccalauréat général (general baccalaureate) and the baccalauréat professionnel (professional baccalaureate).
All three types of baccalauréat have certain differences. Let’s take a closer look at them here.
The Baccalauréat technologique
Students have to sit for three years to get this baccalauréat degree. The first year covers general sciences. However, the during their second technology baccalauréat year students need to choose their major subjects of study. The main two directions of technical baccalauréat studies are academic and practical. Besides, tech baccalauréat students take classes in such general sciences, as languages, physics, history, literature, etc.
The graduate of technical baccalauréat or BT can go on with their studies for two more years and get a BTS degree. The brevet de technicien supérieur or BTS degree is gaining in popularity among students, since it offers great career opportunities for young people.
The Baccalauréat general
General Baccalauréat is somewhat similar to the technical baccalauréat. It provides its graduates with the BT degree and it takes them three years to sit the course. It also has two main directions in studies: academic and practical.
Students of general baccalauréat can pick their paths of studies, but they also can transfer from one path to another, i.e. from practical to academic and vice versa.
The Baccalauréat professionnel
Sitting professional baccalauréat gives students an opportunity to get two forms of certificates. Those are CAP and BEP. The first certificate stands for the special knowledge in some area of employment acquired by the student. This means, a person is knowledgeable in some science or industry. The CAP stands for the acquired skills. This means a person knows how to do something.
The CAP owners need three more years of studies to obtain their BT. Professional baccalauréat students may also move on with their education and sit for 2 years to go through technical baccalauréat.
As you may see, there are many nuances in France education and its baccalauréat educational programs. Still, many students seek to enter lycees and sit through their baccalauréat to get the degree and move on with higher education or start careers.