Middle school is the students’ entry to secondary education. Middle school welcomes all students at the end of primary school. Middle school consists of 4 classes: 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd.
Teaching organization in middle school
The education is organized into three-year cycles which allow time for students to learn better. In middle school, 6th is the last year of cycle 3, the other grades are part of cycle 4.
Sixth: last year of cycle 3, strengthening cycle
6th grade allows students to adapt to middle school organization and environment, and ensure learning continuity with the first two cycle years, CM1 and CM2.
Fifth, fourth and third: cycle 4, deepening cycle
The goal is to allow students to develop skills in several subjects and cross-disciplinary studies.
The health education, art and culture education and citizen education offer students, teenagers who have a new relation with themselves and others, a frame allowing to build, in a climate of confidence, essential skills to face the amount of new knowledge and new technologies, including digital. They should be able to discover cross disciplinary situations with a personal and creative mindset while complying with standards belonging to a common culture.
At the end of third grade, students take the brevet national diploma.
Subjects in middle school
Mandatory subjects
Subjects in middle school are structured by discipline:
- French
- Maths
- History and geography
- sciences
- Physics and chemistry
- Technology
- Sport education
- Arts
- Musical education
In sixth grade, science and technologie subjects might be gathered into “Sciences and technologie”, with a common program, following what was studied during the first years of cycle 3.
Digital skills
Digital in education adapts to each student’s needs and strengthens knowledge acquisition. It promotes a responsible use of the internet and social networks.
You can download the program of cycle 3 and cycle 4 here: