Elementary Education
Elementary school consists of Cycle 2, known as the cycle of fundamental learning (CP, CE1, CE2), and the first two years of Cycle 3, known as the consolidation cycle (CM1, CM2).
The education provided in elementary schools ensures the acquisition of fundamental skills: reading, writing, arithmetic, and respect for others.
Additionally, it:
● Encourages the development of intelligence, artistic sensitivity, manual, physical, and sports skills;
● Provides the foundations of historical, geographical, scientific, and technical knowledge;
● Offers education in visual and musical arts;
● Ensures the teaching of a foreign language and may include an introduction to linguistic diversity;
● Contributes to the understanding and responsible use of media, especially digital media;
● Promotes the understanding and adherence to respect for individuals, their origins, and their differences;
● Emphasizes respect for children’s rights and gender equality.
This education, in partnership with families, ensures the teaching of moral and civic education, which includes the acquisition and sharing of the values and symbols of the Republic and the European Union to foster active citizenship.
Elementary school welcomes children for five academic years after preschool.
The CP and CE1 programs aim to ensure continuity with preschool by organizing teaching into broad areas of learning, with the following priority objectives:
Mastery of language and the French language with the learning of reading, writing, and the French language.
The English language with the learning of reading, writing, and the English language (and Irish as an option).
Mathematics with the knowledge and understanding of numbers, their numerical writing (decimal numeration), and calculations on small quantities.
The first scientific practice, the first historical and civic reflections, which ensure an essential openness to the world and the construction of a common culture for all students.
Artistic education, which is based on a practice that promotes personal expression and direct contact with artworks, with a view to a first introduction to art history.
Physical and sports education, which also plays an important role in the school activities of this cycle.
All these teachings contribute to the acquisition of the common foundation of knowledge, skills, and culture. The quality of work presentation, attention to mastering movement, body posture, and schoolwork tools are the subject of constant vigilance.
The CE2, CM1, and CM2 programs focus on deepening knowledge and skills.
The areas of learning are structured around:
● Mastery of language and the French language
● English language learning (with Irish as an optional subject)
● Introduction to civic education
● Introduction to a foreign or regional language
● History
● Geography
● Mathematics
● Experimental sciences and technology
● Visual arts
● Music education
● Physical and sports education
● Computer science
The student enters a phase of development that allows them to build their knowledge in a more thoughtful manner and to acquire more reliable intellectual tools. The programs are organized in a way that connects broad general domains with subjects now anchored in their reference disciplines, providing each student with the foundations of a well-balanced culture.
The common foundation of knowledge, skills, and culture defines what every student must know and master by the end of compulsory schooling. Introduced into law in 2005, it comprises the set of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes necessary for succeeding in school, personal life, and as a future citizen.
A personal skills record allows for tracking the student’s progress. Since 2011, mastering the seven key competencies of this foundation has been required to obtain the Diplôme National du Brevet (D.N.B.).