Coming to France - Euroguidance

Education is compulsory in France from the ages of 3 to 16 and followed by a training until 18. Some children go to a preschool earlier (2 years old). Some information about the organisation of the education system and of its structure in english.

To enroll your child in primary schools (6-10 years), you must contact the town hall.
To enroll your child in lower secundary schools (« collège »), your have to contact the educational district’s administrative head, the rectorat
About higher education application, the Campus France agency gives all useful informations to foreign students.

Guidance centers « Les Centres d’information et d’orientation (CIO) » are spread in all French territory, and monorientationenligne.fr services are available to answer to all questions about guidance and studies in France.

« Schooling explained for parents » is a video series from Onisep.
The series is intended for every parent and describes, in a clear and concise way, how Schooling is organized in France, its roles and responsibilities, and the different stages in schooling from kindergarten through to higher education.

4 videos, available on 11 languages (French, English, Arabic, Armenian, Bambara, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian) about French educational system you can look at on the Onisep’s website or download.

The role of school in France link
Going to school, organisation of primary schools link
Middle school, sixth form and beyond link
Oganisation of life at school link

The ONISEP (Office National d’Information sur les Enseignements et les Professions – National Office for Information on Education and Occupations) has three main tasks: collection, archiving and distribution of information about career guidance and occupations in France.