New bac exams in France cut over Covid-19

Lycee students will have fewer exams than originally planned this school year as some are cancelled due to Covid-19.

This year sees the introduction of the new-style baccalaureate, with exams spread out over the year rather than in a short period in June.

It also introduces a personal choice on top of shared common subjects.

There should have been exams in shared core subjects in April and June for Terminale students (final year) and some time in the second term, which runs from the end of November to the beginning of March, as well as in the third term, for Première (penultimate year).

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer announced these exams will be replaced by continual assessment tests in class due to the health situation.

The subjects concerned are history-geography, languages and general science.

Forty per cent of the final Bac mark will be based on continual assessment. The remaining 60% will be made up from the results of the exams which will still go ahead. These are French in June for pupils in Première, and for pupils in Terminale it includes one each in the student’s two chosen subjects in March, philosophy on June 17 and the new grand oral exam between June 21 and July 2.

Another change is that students will have the choice of two questions to answer in their chosen subject, rather than one, as was originally detailed.

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