Upper School is the next step in the student’s academic journey. Having acquired the building blocks of learning to read and reading to learn in Lower School, students enter Grade 6 ready to embark on a whole new adventure. At Lycée Français de San Francisco, the Upper School curriculum continues to emphasize the program provided by France’s Ministry of Education, while blending English language courses that will allow students to graduate as bilingual and bicultural young adults. Our scholars have the opportunity of graduating with French and U.S. diplomas that will open doors to universities in the U.S., France, Canada, Europe and beyond.

MIDDLE SCHOOL:  GRADES 6-9

View the Middle School Curriculum here.

Middle School, called Collège in France, is a four-year course that transitions students from a world of spending the day in a self-contained classroom with a single teacher, to a more independent and self-directed environment where they have a different teacher for each subject and must change classrooms several times throughout the day. Teachers are now experts in their field and lead students into discovering new content and new ideas, solving complex problems, and becoming more autonomous learners, ready for High School.

The four years of Middle School are organized into three Cycles. Grade 6 (Sixième or 6e) is the Cycle of Adaptation: it initiates students into the workings of Upper School and ensures continuity of learning from Elementary School. In Grade 6 students add a foreign language (Spanish, German or Mandarin). Grades 7 and 8 (Cinquième or 5e and Quatrième or 4e) are the Central Cycle: students deepen their knowledge and know-how; physics- chemistry enters the curriculum; discussions of professional paths and training start; and students have the option to begin studying Latin in Grade 7. Grade 9 (Troisième or 3e) is the Orientation Cycle: this year allows students to build on what they have learned in Middle School and prepare for the Lycée (High School) years in which they will do more specialized work.

Students follow the French Ministry of Education’s mandatory coursework, which is complemented by courses in English for language arts, U.S. math and social studies. The program is challenging and requires a real commitment. Coursework can include up to 11 different subjects per year, ranging from art to life sciences. The objective of the French academic program is to ensure that all students have a well-rounded education. This gives them the building blocks to make choices in High School for more advanced studies.

Le Diplôme National du Brevet

At the end of Grade 9, the Diplôme Bational du Brevet or DNB (National Diploma of Certification) assesses the knowledge and skills students have acquired at the end of Middle School. For the DNB, students take written exams in math, French and history-geography, and an oral exam in art history. Final DNB scores are calculated using students’ course grades during the final year of Middle School.

Grades 10 - 12

View the High School Curriculum here.

High School, called Lycée in France, is Grades 10, 11 and 12 (Seconde or 2de, Première or 1re, and Terminale), and it represents the last leg of a student’s journey towards university. Starting in Grade 10, students begin preparing for the French Baccalaureate, le Baccalauréat, and in many cases, our students select the prestigious Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB), which gives them the opportunity to showcase their bilingual skills and for which French studies are supplemented by demanding subjects in English.

Grade 10

The Grade 10 curriculum, also known as the Cycle of Initiation, is designed to prepare students to choose which specialties they will study in Grades 11 and 12. New subjects, such as economics, are included as part of a student’s required coursework, but first and foremost, the goal is to transmit a common culture to all the students (via French, math, history-geography, foreign languages, physics-chemistry, life and Earth sciences, physical education, and civic education courses), and to allow them to explore the literary, economic, scientific and technological domains. At the end of Grade 10, students choose specialized options that complement a core curriculum. Specializations are broken into three Series that will determine a student’s path through Grade 12: Série L (literary series), Série ES (economic and social series), and Série S (scientific series).

Grades 11 and 12 : The French Baccalaureate

Established and moderated by the French Ministry of Education, the Baccalauréat or BAC (not to be confused with the International Baccalaureate or IB) is an exam-driven two-year program. The successful passing of the BAC exams, at the end of Grades 11 and 12, leads to a diploma that marks the completion of the French High School program. The BAC program, taught entirely in French, is a very rigorous and demanding course of study that prepares students for a university career. The L series is centered on literary studies and focuses on foreign languages. The ES series is centered on economic and political sciences, and sociology. The S series is focused on math and experimental sciences (physics-chemistry and life and Earth sciences).

The OIB : International Option of the French Baccalaureate

The Option Internationale du Baccalauréat or OIB is not a separate diploma, but rather a bilingual option within the traditional Baccalauréat. The French curriculum is augmented by courses in English on language and literature, and U.S. history-geography. The BAC OIB is available to students who have demonstrated a true mastery of both French and English.