Category: Education

WITH summer coming to an end, and la rentrée fast approaching, school children will soon be heading back to class with the doors opening on Thursday 1 September, 2022.

The school holiday dates for the year are outlined below, and while the dates mention Saturday that is for the last date should lessons take place, in most cases it will be the Friday the day before that school finishes.

Vacances de la Toussaint 2022
End of class, Saturday 22 October 2022
Start day, Monday 7 November 2022

Vacances de Noël 2022
End of class, Saturday 17 December 2022
Start day, Tuesday 3 January 2023

A key feature of the calendrier scolaire is the different dates for holidays amongst the different educational zones in France.

The three distinct zones when it comes to the dates of when classes break up are:

Zone A: Académies de Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers

Zone B: Académies d’Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Normandie, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Strasbourg

Zone C: Académies de Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles

And the division of schools regions comes into play during the mid-winter and Easter holidays.

Vacances d’hiver 2023
Zone A: End of class, Saturday 4 February 2023. Start day, Monday 20 February 2023

Zone B: End of class, Saturday 11 February 2023. Start day, Monday 27 March 2023

Zone C: End of class, Saturday 18 February 2023. Start day, Monday 6 March 2023

Vacances de printemps 2023 (Easter)
Zone A: End of class, Saturday 8 April 2023. Start day, Monday 24 April 2023

Zone B: End of class, Saturday 15 April 2023. Start day, Monday 2 May 2023

Zone c: End of class, Saturday 22 April 2023. Start day, Monday 9 May 2023

Pont de l’Ascension 2023
End of class, Wednesday 17 May 2023
Start day, Sunday 21 May 2023

Grandes vacances – Summer holidays 2023
End of class, Saturday 8 July 2023

Download Calendrier-scolaire-2022-2023-91418 (.pdf)

THE French school holidays for the coming academic year 2020 to 2021, will see school children go back to the classroom at the end of the summer break on Tuesday 1 September.

The school holiday dates for the year are outlined below, and while the dates mention Saturday that is for the last date should lessons take place, in most cases it will be the Friday the day before that school finishes.

Vacances de la Toussaint 2020
End of class, Saturday 17 October 2020
Start day, Monday 2 November 2020

Vacances de Noël 2020
End of class, Saturday 19 December 2020
Start day, Monday 4 January 2021

A key feature of the calendrier scolaire is the different dates for holidays amongst the different educational zones in France.

The three distinct zones when it comes to the dates of when classes break up are:

Zone A: Académies de Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers

Zone B: Académies d’Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Normandie, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Strasbourg

Zone C: Académies de Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles

And the division of schools regions comes into play during the mid-winter and Easter holidays.

Vacances d’hiver 2021
Zone A: End of class, Saturday 6 February 2021. Start day, Monday 22 February 2021

Zone B: End of class, Saturday 20 February 2021. Start day, Monday 8 March 2021

Zone C: End of class, Saturday 13 February 2021. Start day, Monday 1 March 2021

Vacances de printemps 2021 (Easter)
Zone A: End of class, Saturday 10 April 2021. Start day, Monday 26 April 2021

Zone B: End of class, Saturday 24 April 2021. Start day, Monday 10 May 2021

Zone c: End of class, Saturday 17 April 2021. Start day, Monday 3 May 2021

Pont de l’Ascension 2021
End of class, Wednesday 12 May 2021
Start day, Monday 17 May 2021

Grandes vacances – Summer holidays 2021
End of class, Tuesday 6 July 2021

Download calendrier scolaire 2020-2021 (.pdf)

WITH the final week of the summer holidays almost upon us, the Calendrier Scolaire points out the different term times for the coming academic year amongst the different educational zones in France.

There are three distinct geographical zones when it comes to the dates of when classes break up, to try and ensure holiday periods are spread out across France.

The 2013 – 2014 academic year starts on Tuesday 3 September for all school children, with the Toussaint and Christmas holidays being taken by all three zones at the same time, although holidays next year will be staggered.

And if you want there is a useful calendar you can print off showing the school holiday periods over the coming academic year.

Update: School holidays 2020 – 2021

ALTHOUGH many families when moving to France may look into the possibility of enrolling their children into an international school, there is also a long established private education sector.

And despite the republican values of there being a strong dividing line between church and state, many of the schools will have a religious background but also receive money from the authorities.

However, many of these schools, especially those in rural areas rely upon the fund raising efforts of parents, and Jon Doust writes a very interesting article about his involvement with his local school.

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AFTER two months of holidays parents and children are now ready for la rentrée this week.

The cartables, or school bags, and school equipment listed by the teachers have been bought. I weighed my seven year old granddaughter’s school bag, full of equipment, and it was 5.2 kgs.

She has a school bag on wheels as the weight is too much for her.

The bus passes have been issued so the children can take the bus scolaire and everyone can relax as school reopens for another year.

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MOVING home with an older child, secondary school age of 11 upwards, is always a worry. When it is to a country where the everyday language is not the mother tongue it can be particularly stressful for the parent and for the child.

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FOR this section of education I am concentrating on the basic set up of the French state education for nursery and primary school pupils. Later I will look at secondary education and further education as well as alternatives to the state education.

As parents we all want is best for our children, whatever country we live in. We all hope they will do well, thrive, gain qualifications and be set up for life.

Moving with children inside ones own country is hard enough but moving to a different country, where they possibly don’t even speak the same language, is another matter all together.

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FOR parents moving to France the biggest worry is how their offspring are going to cope. What are French schools like, how does the system operate, will they settle, what options do I have?

The list is endless and the older they get the more complex and difficult the subject becomes.

Last year my daughter and her two children moved to France. We had worries about how the children would settle, although we were told many times that children adapt very easily; more easily than adults!

So for a mini series about education in France and the options available I decided to ask a mini expert, my granddaughter, on how she feels about living in France and about school here.

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ALTHOUGH retirement is the usual reason behind a move to France, there are increasing numbers of young families heading across the Channel.

Some may be taking up a new posting with work, while others are looking to set up a new outpost completely and move across lock, stock and barrel.

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A MAJOR worry for parents thinking of moving to France is what if the children don’t settle into their new school?

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