Secondary school enrollment of a pupil from the foreigner

Verified 23 October 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You have just settled in France and you want to organize the schooling of your teenager? He must attend middle school or high school until the age of 16. The registration procedure and school enrollment rules are different depending on whether it is first installation or a return in France. We present you with the information you need to know.

1st installation

If you are settling for the first time in France, your child is first assessed for his or her academic skills. He is then educated, depending on his age and knowledge, in ordinary or adapted classes.

When you arrive in France, contact the Casnav: titleContent on which your main residence.

Your child will meet a National Education psychologist there. This person analyzes his/her educational background and organizes a pedagogical evaluation.

The results of the evaluation are then transmitted to the Academy's services.

Your child is then assigned to a school. The allocation decision depends on his skills school. It also depends on places available in a suitable establishment close to your home.

You must enroll your child in the college or secondary school designated by the academy. The child must be present in France at the time of registration.

The documents to be provided vary from one rectorate to another. Before registering, check with your host institution for documents.

Who shall I contact

The school introduces you to the French educational system. Your rights and duties, and those of your child, are also presented at the time of reception.

This information takes the form of a bilingual welcome booklet available in the following languages:

The rules differ depending on whether your child was already in school in his or her country of origin.

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Student already in school

If your child was schooled in his country of origin, he is enrolled in an ordinary class corresponding to his level of education.

He can enter a class whose students are not the same age as him. In principle, the age gap cannot exceed 2 years.

If he needs to follow an intensive French course, he can integrate a educational unit for incoming allophone students (UPE2A).

Your child will then benefit from regular classroom instruction and an individualized schedule. His school schedule must be identical to the other pupils enrolled in the same level.

When the grouping of students in a teaching unit is impossible, specific French lessons are put in place.

Student with little or no education

If your child wasn't with little or no schooling in their home country, he is welcomed full-time in a teaching unit for incoming allophone students (UPE2A) to learn French.

He must acquire the basic knowledge of the elementary school's deepening cycle. However, he can take ordinary class courses where the mastery of written French is not essential (music, sports, plastic arts...).

The goal is to get your child into the regular classroom as soon as possible (most often after a year). For this, your child is evaluated regularly, without waiting for the end of the school year.

Older or less well-educated children in their countries of origin are helped and guided in the definition of a suitable training project.

FYI  

the adolescent over 16 years of age, who is more subject to compulsory education, can be accepted in vocational or general and technological secondary schools and benefit from a individualized professional project.

If your child is between the ages of 12 and 17 and their mother tongue is not French, they can pass the diploma of studies in French (Delf) "school".

The Delf scolaire is an official certification of the Ministry of National Education in French as a foreign language. It is issued by France éducation international. The Delf scolaire is internationally recognized.

Who shall I contact

  • France education international

    By telephone

    +33 (0)1 45 07 60 00

    By mail

    1 Léon-Journault Avenue

    92318 Sevres cedex

    By E-mail

    Using the contact form

Return

Registration rules differ depending on the type of schooling your child attends abroad.

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School attendance at a French school

The steps to enroll your child are the same as those for a change of residence.

You must first report your departure to the institution in which your child is attending school. One certificate of cancelation (also called Extreme) will be given to you.

Then you need to present yourself at the college or high school including the following:

  • Certificate of Cancelation of the Institution Previously Attended
  • Guidance Decision
  • Quarterly bulletins for the past year
  • Mandatory vaccination certificates
  • Fact Sheet (Parents)
  • Proof of domicile.

Please note

the hotel may ask for additional documents.

A guidance decision taken by a French foreigner institution shall apply in France in the establishments public and in institutions private under contract.

School attendance in a non-French institution

To be admitted to a school in France, your child must pass an examination designed to assess his academic skills.

You must contact the local college or high school. If you wish to enroll your child in a school outside your area, you must contact the Department of Education (DSDEN).

Who shall I contact

The examination is organized by the head of the host school or the departmental services. It concerns the main subjects common to the class attended and the class in which the student wishes to continue his studies. Its content is fixed by the Dasen: titleContent.

As a result of this review, the Dasen issues a guidance and allocation decision. As soon as you receive this decision, contact the school concerned to prepare the registration file.

In particular, you must provide the following documents to the school:

Correspondence Education (Cned)

The steps to enroll your child are the same as those for a change of residence.

You must first get one certificate of cancelation (also called Extreme) to the Cned.

Then you need to present yourself at the college or high school including the following:

In particular, you must provide the following documents to the school:

  • Certificate of Cancelation of the Institution Previously Attended
  • Guidance Decision
  • Quarterly bulletins for the past year
  • Mandatory vaccination certificates
  • Fact Sheet (Parents)
  • Proof of domicile.

Please note

the hotel may ask for additional documents.

The notices of transition to higher grades and the guidance proposals made by the Cned are valid in France in establishments public and in institutions private under contract.

Example :

Your child has completed his class of 4e by mail (Cned). He is allowed to go to class of 3e. During the summer holidays, you move to France and enroll him in a public college. He will therefore be enrolled in class of 3e.

Instruction followed in the family

To be admitted to a school in France, your child must pass an examination designed to assess his academic skills.

You must contact the local college or high school. If you wish to enroll your child in a school outside your area, you must contact the Department of Education (DSDEN).

Who shall I contact

The examination is organized by the head of the host school or the departmental services. It concerns the main subjects common to the class attended and the class in which the student wishes to continue his studies. Its content is fixed by the Dasen: titleContent.

As a result of this review, the Dasen issues a guidance and allocation decision. As soon as you receive this decision, contact the school concerned to prepare the registration file.

In particular, you must provide the following documents to the school:

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