School Talk at the French School Gate
Chat with other parents about classes, marks, homework and the bac.
French primary classes have names, not numbers: CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2, then collège starts with 6e. Marks are out of 20, and 10 is a pass; the bac at the end of lycée opens the way to university, with applications made on the national Parcoursup platform. Many children stay for le périscolaire, the after-school club run at the school, and parents at the gate usually tu each other.
- 1
Ton fils est en quelle classe ?
What class is your son in?
- 2
Il est en CE2.
He's in CE2.
Tip: The third year of primary school.
- 3
Elle va dans quelle école ?
Which school does she go to?
- 4
Il va au périscolaire tous les soirs.
He goes to the after-school club every evening.
- 5
Elle bûche pour ses examens.
She's cramming for her exams.
- 6
C'est une vraie intello.
She's a real swot.
- 7
J'ai eu 8 sur 20 en maths.
I got 8 out of 20 in maths.
- 8
J'ai eu mon bac !
I passed my bac!
- 9
Il a eu une bonne note en anglais.
He got a good mark in English.
- 10
Des élèves ont séché les cours.
Some pupils skipped class.
- 11
Et pas question de tricher !
And no cheating!
- 12
C'est du gâteau.
It's a piece of cake.
- 13
Elle veut faire médecine.
She wants to study medicine.
- 14
Elle fait ses vœux sur Parcoursup.
She's choosing her courses on Parcoursup.
- 15
Il a un peu de mal à lire.
He finds reading a bit hard.
- 16
Il fait beaucoup de progrès.
He's making lots of progress.
- 17
Les devoirs, ça me rend fou.
Homework is driving me mad.
Tip: A woman would change the last word.
- 18
Bon courage pour demain !
Good luck for tomorrow!
- 19
Je croise les doigts !
Fingers crossed!
- 20
Les vacances commencent vendredi.
The holidays start on Friday.