The elementary school (école élémentaire) welcomes students from 6 years old to 11 years old in two cycles (cycle 2 and beginning of cycle 3) and 5 classes: cours préparatoire (preparatory class or CP), cours élémentaire 1re année (elementary class 1st year or CE1), cours élémentaire 2e année (elementary class 2nd year or CE2), cours moyen 1re année (middle class 1st year or CM1), cours moyen 2e année (middle class 2nd year or CM2). Cycle 3 carries on in middle school.
Goals of education in elementary school
The education provided in elementary school guarantees acquiring fundamental knowledge: reading, writing, counting and respecting others.
In cycle 2, French programs plan teaching for questioning the world, arts (fine arts and musical education), physical and sports education and civic and moral education.
During cycle 3, pupils consolidate their learning in these areas, discover science and technology, history and geography, and the history of the arts.
School takes into account plurality and diversity of each student’s skills. Beyond reasoning and intellectual thinking, observing, experimenting, sensibility, motor skills and creative imagination are developed.
Furthermore,
it helps to develop intelligence, sensitivity to arts, manual, physical and sport skills;
it provides historical, geographical, scientific and technical culture;
it offers education in visual and musical arts;
it participates with understanding and using autonomously and responsibly media, including digital;
it ensures acquisition and understanding of one’s respect, origins and differences;
it shares mandatory children’s rights respect and gender equality;
it supports together with families moral and civil teaching including acquiring, sharing values and symbols of the French Republic, European Union including its history. This will support citizenship use.
You can download the program of cycle 2 and cycle 3 here: