Make sense of... French private schools

Private schooling is more common in France than the UK but most ‘private’ French schools are in fact heavily state-subsidised and far more affordable than their British counterparts.

An estimated 17% of children are schooled privately in France but most go to sous contrat schools. These schools follow a national curriculum and, even if they have a religious ethos (many are Catholic), they must avoid overt ‘proselytism’ and not select on religious grounds.

They are different to the much smaller number of ‘completely private’ – hors contrat - schools which include ‘international schools’ offering teaching in English and studies for the International Bacca­lauréat. At the International School of Nice, for example, fees depending on age (not including meals, after-school activities or boarding) range from €11,000 to €18,000 a year.

On the other hand sous contrat school fees are often around €1,000/year or less (but can vary from as little as €20/month to as much as €1,000 (but including boarding fees) at prestigious schools with a lot of extra support staff not paid by the state and smart new facilities.

Sous contrat teachers are paid by the state and councils provide grants towards other running costs. Fees go towards the maintenance of buildings and ‘extras’ like religious instruction or anything else that is above and beyond what is standard.

For the teachers there are pros and cons. Although they are paid by the state they do not have the status of fonctionnaires like state school teachers. They have less job security and may face more pressure to volunteer for out-of-school activities but they are not subject to being sent for an obligatory stint in a ‘difficult’ area far from home.

Private schools are not subject to catchment areas. A prospective parent may make an appointment to visit or take part in an open day.

According to Gilles Demarquet, incoming chairman of the private Catholic schools’ parents association Apel, parents often choose a school because its ‘educational project’ appeals to them. “One school may have a reputation for looking after children with educational difficulties, another might have an excellent academic level and be suited to gifted children… It’s important for each family to find the school that is the best match.”

He said there is a meeting between the parents and child and the headteacher to assess if the school is the right ‘fit’.

Contrary to assumptions, class sizes are not necessarily smaller than in the state system; school and class size can vary greatly but both are often larger in cities as opposed to rural areas.

However private schools typically have a stronger sense of a school community, he said, with parents invited to play an active role, whether sitting on the school council or on the parents’ association or volunteering to help with outings. “Private schools make a lot of use of volunteers because they can’t call on council workers,” he said.

“As a parents’ association we think this strong involvement of parents is really important as they are the primary educators of their child.”

Catholic schools also seek to transmit ‘Bible values’, he said, adding: “Learning about religious culture is important, because both France and the UK are traditionally Christian.” An element of ‘pastoral’ guidance is also often part of the appeal.

He said fees vary according to the ‘educational project’, location, facilities on offer etc. For his children’s primary school in Yvelines he pays €1,000/year, plus meals (which are more costly than in the state sector as they are not state-subsidised). Some have sliding scales according to means.

“It’s a trend which is becoming more common because if we want to be open to all there shouldn’t be financial barriers.” He denied that private schools exclude the poorest, saying it is a question of priorities.

However, the leader of private sector teacher’s union SNEP-UNSA, Franck Pecot said the main reason parents opt for private schooling is l’entre-soi, or the expectation that their children will be among others from a similar background. In other cases a private school is simply the closest school, especially in rural areas like the middle of Brittany or Auvergne.

Religion as a reason for choosing the sector is of decreasing importance, he added, and many schools are now mostly ‘Catholic in name’.

“Fifty years ago there were still a lot of priests and nuns teaching but since 1992 all teachers have to have teaching diplomas and it’s no longer the case.” An element of actual catechism [instruction in beliefs as opposed to ‘religious culture’] is most commonly found in the primary sector, he said.

He said the way schools select is becoming more transparent, especially as lycée applications are going to be done via the same online system as in the state sector. “We’ll be able to get a better overview, and it will filter down to collège next. We won’t have this opaque system where we didn’t know who was going where and why.”

He said a selective aspect is most noticeable in cities, where there is heavy demand.

As for hors contrat schools he said they are a ‘minuscule’ part of the system and often very small. They include proselytising religious schools. Others such as the Montessori schools have a special educational approach that appeals to parents because they believe “their child needs something different, that breaks the mould”.

The image here was drawn by artist Perry Taylor. For more of his work see www.perrytaylor.fr