NTES National Curriculum Framework Library
Explore France's national curriculum from école maternelle through Cycles 2, 3 and 4, collège, lycée and the general, technological and vocational baccalauréat pathways.
This NTES reference page separates curriculum cycles, national programmes, the socle commun, assessment and upper-secondary pathways so international schools can understand the architecture accurately.
Governance
National Programmes
Compulsory Structure
Cycles 1–4
Shared Foundation
Socle Commun
Upper Secondary
General · Technological · Vocational
Important curriculum distinction
National programmes establish subject expectations, while the socle commun provides a shared framework of knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes developed progressively from Cycle 1 through Cycle 4.
French education pathway
Petite, Moyenne & Grande Sections
Cycle des apprentissages premiers
École maternelle establishes the educational and pedagogical foundations of compulsory schooling through language development, physical activity, artistic activity, early mathematical thinking and exploration of the world.
Official French information →Cycle 1
Early language development
Learning through activity and play
Physical development
Artistic learning
Preparation for elementary school
CP · CE1 · CE2
Cycle des apprentissages fondamentaux
Cycle 2 develops the fundamental foundations of reading, writing, language, mathematics and wider curriculum learning across the first three years of elementary education.
Official French information →CP
CE1
CE2
French
Mathematics
Science & technology development
CM1 · CM2 · 6e
Cycle de consolidation
Cycle 3 deliberately bridges primary and secondary education by combining CM1 and CM2 with the first year of collège, helping learners consolidate foundational knowledge and prepare for lower-secondary study.
Official French information →CM1
CM2
6e
Primary-secondary continuity
Curriculum consolidation
Socle commun progression
5e · 4e · 3e
Cycle des approfondissements
Cycle 4 develops deeper disciplinary knowledge, methods, citizenship, scientific reasoning, languages and broader competencies during the final years of collège.
Official French information →5e
4e
3e
Deeper disciplinary learning
End of compulsory curriculum cycle
Preparation for lycée pathways
Seconde · Première · Terminale
Upper Secondary Education
The general and technological lycée builds on collège learning and prepares students for the baccalauréat and higher education through common teaching, specialisation and pathway choices.
Official French information →Seconde
Première
Terminale
General pathway
Technological pathway
Baccalauréat progression
Post-collège vocational pathways
Vocational Upper Secondary Education
The vocational lycée combines general education with technical and professional learning linked directly to occupational sectors and can lead to CAP or the baccalauréat professionnel.
Official French information →General education
Technical learning
Professional learning
CAP
Baccalauréat professionnel
Employment or further study
Socle commun
The socle commun identifies the knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes pupils should progressively master by the end of compulsory schooling.
Les langages pour penser et communiquer
Includes French language, foreign and regional languages, mathematical and scientific languages, computing, arts and physical expression.
Les méthodes et outils pour apprendre
Develops organisation, learning methods, information literacy, collaboration and appropriate use of learning tools.
La formation de la personne et du citoyen
Supports values, responsibility, citizenship, judgement, participation and understanding of rights and duties.
Les systèmes naturels et les systèmes techniques
Develops scientific and technological understanding of natural phenomena, technical systems and the relationship between science and society.
Les représentations du monde et l'activité humaine
Develops understanding of societies, cultures, history, geography, human activity and representations of the world.
Curriculum architecture
National programmes establish the official framework within which teachers organise instruction while considering pupil learning rates and needs.
Compulsory schooling is structured around learning cycles so knowledge and competencies can develop progressively across several school years.
The socle commun defines the knowledge, competencies, values and attitudes pupils are expected to acquire by the end of compulsory schooling.
French curriculum architecture retains strong disciplinary programmes alongside broader competencies and citizenship objectives.
Programmes identify learning objectives and end-of-cycle expectations that support progression and assessment.
Teachers organise teaching within the national framework and adapt pedagogy to pupils' learning needs and progress.
Cycle 2
Reading, oral language, writing and explicit development of language are central to fundamental learning.
Learners develop number understanding, calculation, problem solving, measurement, geometry and mathematical reasoning.
Updated 2026 programmes strengthen structured scientific and technological learning across the cycle.
Visual arts and music develop creative expression, artistic knowledge and participation.
Physical education supports motor development, health, cooperation and participation.
Learners progressively develop awareness of society, responsibility and the world around them.
Collège
Collège programmes define essential knowledge and methods while translating the objectives of the socle commun into progressively deeper subject learning.
French
Mathematics
History & Geography
Moral and Civic Education
Modern Foreign Languages
Life and Earth Sciences
Physics & Chemistry
Technology
Arts
Music
Physical Education
Assessment
Teachers assess learner acquisition throughout the cycle and use evidence to identify both acquired knowledge and areas requiring consolidation.
A formal review of mastery is established at least at the end of each compulsory curriculum cycle.
Socle commun components are evaluated through four reference levels: insufficient, fragile, satisfactory and very good mastery.
National assessment programmes provide additional information about pupil achievement at selected stages of schooling.
Assessment arrangements during the cycle are organised by teaching teams within the national curriculum framework.
Assessment should help pupils, teachers and families understand progress toward curriculum expectations.
Lycée général
Seconde générale et technologique is a determination year providing common learning before students make more specialised pathway choices.
Students in the general pathway choose three speciality subjects in Première and continue two in Terminale.
Students continue common subjects alongside their chosen specialities.
The general pathway is designed primarily to prepare students for higher education.
Voie technologique
Technological education uses more applied and inductive approaches connected to concrete technical and economic sectors.
The technological terminal cycle contains seven main series preparing students for the technological baccalauréat.
The technological pathway is designed primarily for progression into higher education, including BUT and BTS routes.
Students combine general education with increasingly specialised technological learning.
Baccalauréat pathways
Primarily preparation for university, grandes écoles, preparatory classes and other higher-education pathways.
Assessment
40% continuous assessment + 60% terminal examinations
Combines general and technological education and primarily supports progression into technological and professional higher education.
Assessment
Continuous assessment and terminal examinations according to national regulations
Combines general and occupational learning and supports both employment and further education.
Assessment
Qualification-specific assessment under national vocational regulations
Lycée professionnel
The Certificat d'aptitude professionnelle is normally prepared over two years after collège.
The vocational baccalauréat is normally prepared over three years after collège.
Vocational pupils continue general education alongside technical and occupational subjects.
Technical and professional learning is structured around occupational activity frameworks connected with professional sectors.
Programmes connect learning with enterprises, occupations and practical professional contexts.
Vocational qualifications can lead directly to employment or progression into further and higher study.
Current 2026 curriculum development
Several Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 programmes have been revised for staged implementation beginning in the 2026–27 school year.
New science and technology programmes were formally adopted in June 2026, with staged implementation beginning in the 2026–27 school year.
New Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 history-geography programmes were adopted in spring 2026 with staged implementation.
New physical-education programmes for Cycles 2 and 3 were also adopted in 2026.
These updates demonstrate why schools should verify the programme applicable to the correct class and school year rather than relying on an old curriculum summary.
School implementation
Schools should ensure that subject learning progresses coherently across each multi-year cycle and between cycles.
Planning and assessment during compulsory schooling should connect disciplinary teaching to relevant components of the common foundation.
Leaders and teachers need systems for tracking new Bulletin officiel curriculum changes and implementation dates.
Teaching teams should develop shared understanding of expected standards and the evidence used to judge pupil mastery.
Cycle 3 deliberately spans CM1, CM2 and 6e, making collaboration across école and collège particularly important.
Curriculum planning should support pupils and families in understanding progression toward general, technological or vocational pathways.
Curriculum implementation should enable pupils with differing needs to access learning and demonstrate progress appropriately.
Curriculum evidence can support school self-evaluation, teaching review and improvement planning alongside the separate French school-evaluation framework.
Framework overview
| Stage | Classes | Main Focus | Progression |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle 1 | PS · MS · GS | Early learning, language, activity, development and preparation for elementary education | Transition into fundamental learning |
| Cycle 2 | CP · CE1 · CE2 | Fundamental learning with strong emphasis on French and mathematics | Foundation for consolidation |
| Cycle 3 | CM1 · CM2 · 6e | Consolidation and primary-secondary continuity | Transition into deeper collège learning |
| Cycle 4 | 5e · 4e · 3e | Deeper disciplinary and competency development | Orientation toward lycée pathways |
| Lycée | Seconde · Première · Terminale | General, technological or vocational upper-secondary study | Baccalauréat, employment and/or higher education |
Official French resources
French programmes are periodically revised through official regulations and the Bulletin officiel. Curriculum leaders should always confirm the version and implementation date applicable to the relevant class.
Official Ministry hub for national school programmes from maternelle through lycée.
Explore School ProgrammesOfficial 2026 Ministry explanation of the common foundation of knowledge, skills and culture.
Explore Socle CommunCurrent Éduscol curriculum, support resources and national assessment information for CP, CE1 and CE2.
Explore Cycle 2Official Ministry information about Cycle 3 and Cycle 4 curriculum programmes in collège.
Explore CollègeOfficial national programmes for Seconde, Première and Terminale in the general and technological pathways.
Explore Lycée ProgrammesOfficial current structure of the French general baccalauréat, including continuous assessment and terminal examinations.
Explore Bac GénéralOfficial information about the technological upper-secondary pathway and baccalauréat.
Explore Bac TechnologiqueOfficial programmes for vocational upper-secondary education, CAP and baccalauréat professionnel pathways.
Explore Vocational LycéeThis page explains the French national curriculum architecture. France's school self-evaluation and external-evaluation system is a separate quality framework managed through the Conseil d'évaluation de l'École and is covered elsewhere in the NTES inspection and evaluation library.
NT Education Solutions is an independent education provider and is not affiliated with the French Ministry of National Education or the Government of France.
From national curriculum to school improvement
France provides a useful comparison for curriculum sequencing, national expectations, cycle-based progression, competency development, upper-secondary pathways and alignment between curriculum and assessment.