Lycée général

In French secondary education, a lycée général offers a 3-year curriculum leading to the general baccalaureate. The name comes from the Lyceum, a gymnasium in Athens near which Aristotle taught. The origin of this is in turn due to its proximity to a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Lykeios.

History

Originally created by Napoleon Bonaparte with the law of 11 Floréal Year X (May 1, 1802) to train "the elite of the nation", the lycée, as Napoleon put it, is one of the "masses of granite", along with the Civil Code and the Legion of Honor.

Lycées for boys

Lycées for boys were created in 1802 from the most important of the écoles centrales. The lycée provided training in literature (French, Latin, Ancient Greek, 3 teachers) and science (3 teachers). Article 5 of the decree of March 17, 1808 set out the curriculum as follows: "Ancient languages, history, rhetoric, logic, and the basics of mathematical and physical sciences". The usual system was boarding; the lycées were marked by military-style supervision and students wore uniforms. Few in number (in theory, there was to be one lycée per département), the lycées were entirely state-funded. They were run by a principal, aided by a censor^[1] and a treasurer, and taught by agrégés (associate professors), whose position was created by King Louis XV in 1766 to supplement the teachers already recruited from the royal colleges. Entrance to the lycée was subject to passing an exam to test previous knowledge. Tuition was also fee-paying, although provision was made for scholarships to be awarded to students based on their parents' income. The first twelve lycées created in Year XI were in Brussels, Moulins, Marseille, Mayenne, Mainz, Besançon, Rennes, Douai, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Rouen and Paris (the former Paris college of the Prytanée français). With the Bourbon Restoration in France, lycées took the name of "collèges royaux".

Lycées for girls

Girls' lycées came into being with a law proposed by Camille Sée and passed on December 21, 1880. This law introduced secondary education for girls, which could take place in 36 lycées de jeunes filles by 1896.^[2]

Secondary education was reformed in 1902: in classical and modern education, four years of common core (sixième or sixth class to troisième or third class) were followed by two years of preparation for the first baccalaureate, of which there were four forms: A: Latin-Greek, B: Latin-Languages, C: Latin-Sciences, D: Languages-Sciences. A, B and C were classical, while D was modern. In classical education, Greek could be started in cinquième (fifth class). This first baccalauréat gave the right to take, in one year, the second part of the baccalauréat (elementary mathematics and philosophy).^[3]

From 1802 to 1959, the term lycée was used to designate state-funded establishments covering the whole of long secondary education (from sixième to terminale), as opposed to collèges, which could also cover the whole of long secondary education, but were funded by the municipality or département. From 1959 to 1963, all collèges and lycées covering the entire long secondary cycle were known as "lycées". From 1963 onwards, the term took on its current meaning, as the first cycle of secondary education (from sixiéme to 3e) was gradually transformed into a "collège d'enseignement secondaire" (a collège of secondary education).^[4]

The lycée today

Until 1994, the lycée général streams were called A (literature, philosophy, languages), B (economics and social studies), C (mathematics), D (biology) and E (mathematics and technology). These have now been replaced by the three series: economic and social (ES), literary (L) and scientific (S).^[5]

The organization of the lycée général curriculum was partially modified by the first reform of the {lang|fr|lycée général et technologique}} (general and technological lycée), introduced by Ministers of National Educatoin Xavier Darcos and Luc Chatel between 2007 and 2009.

The second reform of the lycée général et technologique, initiated in 2019 by Jean-Michel Blanquer, then Minister of National Education, greatly altered the pathway in

Organization of the lycée général

Seconde

During the seconde (second stage or class), students have the same common core instruction, regardless of their stream (S, ES or L). They may also elect to enroll in some optional courses, such as:

General courses :
- Ancient languages and cultures: Greek or Latin
- C-level modern languages
- Arts
- Physical education
Technology courses :
- Management and administration
- Health and welfare
- Biotechnology
- Sciences
- Engineering

At the end of the second hear, students can choose to continue on a general or technological path.

Première

Upon entering the première (first stage or class), students take a common core along with three specialized courses which they choose, including:

Arts
History, geography and political science
Humanities, literature and philosphy
Foreign languages and cultures
Ancient languages and cultures
Mathematics
Information technology
Chemistry
Life and earth sciences
Engineering
Social sciences

And one optional course, such as :

Ancient languages and cultures
C-level modern languages
Arts
Physical education

Terminale

The terminale, or final class is the baccalauréat class. Students take a core curriculum, plus 2 of the 3 specialties chosen in première, and up to two optional courses.

At the end of three years, students obtain a baccalauréat général with credit for the two specialties taken in terminale.

References

^ Charged with maintaining good order and discipline
^ A. Prost, Regards historiques sur l'éducation en France, p. 113-116.
^ A quoi sert le baccalauréat ?: La réforme de 1902. French Senate.
^ Jean-Michel Chapoulie, Les professeurs de l'enseignement secondaire : Un métier de classe moyenne, page 3.
^ Présentation des trois voies de formation en lycée, MEN/DGSCO.