Main trends in young people's participation in education and training

According to the Education Indicators 2016 (les indicateurs de l’enseignement 2024): 

Participation rate

A large majority of children are enrolled in preschool education from the age of 3 (91.3%). At age 5, 0.8% of pupils have already begun primary education. At age 11, 1.9% of children are enrolled in the first year of secondary education. Conversely, at age 12, 19.1% of pupils are behind in their schooling, as they are still in primary school. This proportion is 1.6% for 13-year-old pupils. From the age of 18—the age marking the end of compulsory education—enrolment rates drop sharply. At the theoretical age of entry into higher education (18 years old), the enrolment rate in compulsory secondary education is 48.6%, reflecting a significant level of educational delay.

Socio-economic disparities in primary and secondary school

The socioeconomic background of families has a significant impact on students’ educational paths. Inequalities appear from the very beginning of schooling and become more pronounced throughout compulsory education. Socioeconomic differences are particularly noticeable among the various types of secondary education, with higher socioeconomic indices in general and technical transition programs, and lower ones in technical qualification and vocational programs. These disparities also persist within specialized secondary education.

Organisation of the education and training system

Compulsory education
Compulsory part-time formal education ends at 18. 
Compulsory full-time education ends at the age of 15/16. It includes a maximum of 7 years of primary education and at least 2 years of full-time secondary education. 
More detailed information in Eurypedia.

Overview of main organisation of formal education
Report to Eurypedia to find a complete information about education facilities and age group. 

Main concepts

According to Eurypedia, “freedom of education is enshrined in the Constitution: the organisation of schools may not be subject to any restrictive measures. It is therefore possible to organise schools that have no links to the public authorities. However, schools that wish to confer recognised qualifications and benefit from subsidies from the Community must comply with the provisions of laws, decrees, and regulations”.

High degree of autonomy
 
According to Eurypedia, since most powers with regard to education have been transferred to the Communities, a twofold shift has been taking place in the French Community: on the one hand, an increasing degree of management autonomy is being granted to institutions, in addition to the high degree of freedom which was already theirs in terms of educational methods; on the other hand, this increasing autonomy has been accompanied by the introduction of new regulatory mechanisms to ensure the development of fairly run schools that perform to a high standard.

Early school leaving

The decree adopted on 21 November 2013 defines “school drop-out” 

1)    as the situation of a pupil who is under compulsory schooling and:
-    who is registered in a school but does not attend courses without a valid reason ; 
-    who is not registered in any school and who is not educated at home ; 

2)    as the situation of a pupil who is under compulsory schooling, registered in a school but who didn’t attend courses, without a valid reason, for more than 20 half-schooldays. 

The decree adopted on 21 November 2013 defines “early school leaving” as a situation in which a pupil leaves school or training without having graduated from the first cycle of secondary school and who is no longer in education or training.