A typical day in the life of a high school student in France. 10 Fun Facts!
“Have you ever wondered what a day would be like in a school in another country? Let me share with you 10 fun facts about a typical day in the life of a high school student in France.”
Lisa Foret hails from France. In this blog post she shares with us a typical day in a high school, in France and its territories.
Have you ever wondered what a day would be like in a school in another country? Let me introduce you to 10 “fun facts” - typical day as a high schooler, in France!
Before we start, we need to acknowledge that in France you start high school at 15 years old and you are supposed to graduate when you are 18.
Fun fact n.1: Your day starts at 8 am and ends at 5 pm or 6 pm (no joke).
Fun fact n.2: Your lunchtime lasts 1 hour (you get your starter meal, your main course, cheese, and dessert at the cafeteria, a “salad bar” is provided and you can get a second serving as well).
Fun fact n.3: You stay with the exact same classmates (up to 35 students!) for the whole academic year, you share the same schedule all year long, and start with a new set of classmates the next year.
Fun fact n.4:
High school= Lycée (pronounce: lee-seh)
10th grade = Seconde
11th grade = Première
12th grade = Terminale
Fun fact n.5: Every student has to study for numerous mandatory subjects (including 2 international languages) and has to choose 2 different “electives” to add to their schedule. Here is a list of all my subjects, when I used to be a high school student, et voilà:
-French
-Maths
-History
-Geography
-English
-Spanish
-Biology
-Physics
-Chemistry
-PE
-Art
-Philosophy
-Literature
-Social studies
-History in Spanish (elective 1)
-History in English (elective 2)
Fun fact n.6: Never forget your school bag with your notebooks, pens and books. Forgetting your material is like forgetting your towel to go to the beach.
Fun fact n.7: Always get ready for “surprise tests”!
Fun fact n.8: Classes last 55 minutes, AND you can have 2 hours of one subject in a row (I used to start my Friday with 2 hours of philosophy and finish my day with 2 hours of maths).
Fun fact n.9: High schoolers typically come to school by bus because in France you are not allowed to obtain your driving licence before 18 years old.
Fun fact n.10: Every high school (and schools in general) are named after someone who was historically speaking “important” and/or who brought progress in a specific field.
My high school was “Lycée Augustin Fresnel”.
“Augustin Fresnel did important work on optics where he was one of the founders of the wave theory of light.” https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Fresnel/
Lisa Foret
We are very lucky to have Lisa Foret at Yellow Wood Academy. Not only is Lisa a fantastic teacher with a very full teaching schedule. She also consistently reaches out to help her coworkers when they are in need. Lisa has taught at Yellow Wood since September of 2018, and she has had a huge impact on our school culture. Thanks for your continued effort and expertise, Lisa
