In France, school is compulsory for children from 6 to 16 years old. But many (almost all) children go to school from 3 on in the “maternelle” sections of primary schools. For public schools, parents register their child in their city.
The french system structures primary school into three cycles : 1- first learning (small and middle section of « maternelle » ie 3 and 4 yo), 2- fundamental learning (great section of “maternelle”, CP and CE1 ie 5, 6 and 7 yo), and 3- advanced learning (CE2, CM1, CM2 ie 8, 9 and 10 yo).
Generally, classes comprise from 20 to 30 children. Smaller classes are really rare, even for primary schools. Namely, primary schools practising Montessori methods are really rare in France.
Education programs are national. For primary schools, their overall priority is to develop french language and civic education. A foreign language is taught in primary school. This starts in CP (6 years old) and generally concerns english. Teaching time is between 1 and 2 hours per week.
Glossary :
Cp = cours preparatoire
Ce = cours elementaire (ce1 and ce2)
Cm =cours moyen (cm1 and cm2)
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