Charles de Gaulle European High School, setting its sights firmly on Europe.

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1 Charles de Gaulle European High School, setting its sights firmly on Europe. Since its creation in 1990, this high school has set itself the task of focusing on Europe. It is open to different cultures within an evergrowing Europe and in addition has given itself the mission of creating freedom for these differences to exist whether cultural, social or linguistic. To allow for this the school is focused on its pupils and the promotion of international exchanges thanks to its excellence in the fields of communication and international relations. mission of the establishment is fully in line with this vision. goal of the establishment is to ensure that the school remains dynamic and continues to pursue its international project with a view to higher education both in France and abroad. pupils are at the heart of this international project and the school aims to encourage them to become citizens who will have respect for both those around them and their environment. In order to realise this ambition the school is equipped with personnel and resources by the local education authority (l Academie de Dijon) and the Region Council of Burgundy. school has three main mission statements: 1 To be a school which is aware of its surroundings, both international and local. 2 To be a school with links to its surroundings and to be motivated by its quest for excellence of each individual as well as the school population as a whole. 3 To be a consciously humane school, creating solidarity, freedom and respect for the environment.

2 pupils and their development number of pupils Evolution des effectifs enrolling each year, 1024 in 2007, 1050 has increased steadily since the 1000 school opened. Pupils are 950 recruited from three middle schools in the area and by selection within the region for options such as dance, languages rentrée and the European streams. This recruitment is done with a girl/boy ratio of 2/3 to 1/3 in favour of girls. boarding house which has a capacity of 160 is currently home to 160 pupils, with the Polish pupils being housed in two of the buildings. Proportion filles garçons en 2006 proportion of day pupils (22%) is relatively low compared to those who are here on a halfboard basis 32% (61%). number of pupils Garcons Filles following a European or ABIBAC 68% program is 300 spread over all 3 years. school has a staff comprising of 155 people who carry out a variety of different roles, including the management, the administration and the organisation of the establishment (head teacher, teachers, careers advisor, social worker, nurse etc). At the heart of the school everyone listens to each other. This allows for good working relations and a pleasant atmosphere between pupils and teachers. Where we are and what we offer Situated in the capital of its region, Charles de Gaulle High School is dedicated exclusively to teaching the traditional literary, economics and scientific baccalauréat programs. latter is taught with a speciality in life and earth sciences. school places particular emphasis on the teaching of foreign languages and has three European streams. European aspect of the school is reinforced each year by the welcoming of 30 Polish pupils who follow the French curriculum and by the ABIBAC stream who study for a Franco German award which is recognised by both education systems. In addition to Latin and Polish the school also offers English, German, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. school is also a member of GRETA 21 and regularly organises courses. Nombre d'éleves layout of the school is functional and pleasant with a large central rotunda which is surrounded by the library, the counsellors office, the secretaries offices and the canteen. A large number of activities take place in the rotunda as well as it

3 being a meeting place and a centre of information about the school thanks to the TV screens. All this takes place in a musical atmosphere thanks to the presence of a piano available to all the pupils. As insignificant as these touches may seem, they are greatly appreciated by the whole school community. school also has a boarding house, located at the very heart of the establishment and capable of welcoming up to 160 pupils. It is made up of two different buildings and split into four separate residences (one for boys and three for girls). Each building houses bedrooms which are furnished with the aim of making each pupil feel comfortable and at home. buildings also all include a lounge which allows the boarders to relax and enjoy themselves outside of their bedrooms and their lessons. Each boarder is required to have a link with a family in Dijon who are willing to welcome the pupil if necessary. linguistic element of the school is reinforced by the boarding house as it plays host to exchange pupils from a variety of different countries during international exchanges. boarding house is central to the school and represents a varied and enjoyable lifestyle for the boarders, who are often involved in extracurricular activities. school and its Polish pupils Since 1991 the school has welcomed Polish pupils, who at the invitation of the Regional Council, the town of Dijon and the wider community of the city of Dijon, follow the French curriculum for three years. selection of these pupils is made using the Burgundy Examination which is held every year in spring in the towns of Krakow, Bialystok and Opole. pupils chosen are housed in the boarding house during the week and by volunteer host families at the weekend, which allows the Polish pupils to discover some of the culture and customs of our country. se pupils only return home during the holidays which are every 7 weeks. Since the beginning of this exchange program in 1994, the year of their first baccalauréat exam, these pupils have enjoyed a 100% success rate. Burgundy

4 Examination is a unique exam in France since it allows Polish pupils to come and study here for either one or three years enabling them to take the baccalauréat. Pupils in their final year of middle school or their first year of high school in the regions surrounding Bialystok, Krakow and Opole are eligible to be entered into the exam. exam is based on two different tests: Firstly a written test which includes the translation of a text from Polish into French and a written exercise in which the candidate must write an essay on a given subject. candidates who pass the written test are eligible to take the oral exam. oral exam consists of the comprehension and analysis of a text. candidate is given twenty minutes preparation in order to read and understand the text and is then interviewed by a panel of judges for a further twenty minutes. questions cover the comprehension of the text but also allow the pupil to express their own opinion on the text and their knowledge of Polish culture and history. results are published the same or following day. successful candidates and their families then meet with the judges again in order to clarify any queries and complete the administrative procedure. As soon as they arrive the Polish pupils are placed in a mainstream class. However they do receive a slightly different education as they also benefit from a course of French a foreign language for two hours a week for the first two years as well as a class of Polish language and citizenship. European and international projects school possesses three European streams: pupils in these streams follow the traditional foreign language curriculum but with the addition of courses known as NLS (non linguistic subjects) which are taught in the target language. Belonging to one of these streams qualifies a pupil for a European distinction on their baccalauréat certificate as long as certain criteria are met. This distinction is valued highly by certain higher education institutions in France and abroad (particularly in the country of the language studied).

5 German European stream geography taught in German. history and English European stream history, geography, physics and chemistry taught in English. Spanish European stream this stream was created in 2005 and is comprised of students in their first year and those following an economics qualification. additional subject taught in Spanish is economics. ABIBAC stream this stream in incredibly special and helps the school stand out from the crowd. pupils in this stream are able to take the French baccalauréat and the German abitur (the German equivalent of the baccalauréat). Obtaining both of these qualifications study at German universities. allows pupils to se pupils follow both language classes and NLS. international streams are made possible thanks to exchanges with Charles de Gaulle s partner schools. refore throughout the whole academic year the school welcomes for short periods foreign pupils and teachers. exchange program also allows our pupils to spend several weeks in a foreign country (Germany, Spain etc). se exchanges are made possible through links with partner schools which allow Charles de Gaulle to pursue its European ambitions. high school, the Sciences Po ( Institute of Political Science) and the CNED (Centre for Distance Learning) In 2007 a new type of training course was held, linked with the preparation for the entrance exams of the Sciences Po and the IEP ( Institute of Political Studies). This course was unique in Burgundy and was organised by Charles de Gaulle in partnership with the CNED and it Vanves campus with the backing of the Dijon local education authority and the Burgundy Regional Council. course was open to high school pupils from across the region covered by the Dijon local education authority. course

6 took place for one week during the spring holidays. candidates followed a program of lessons identical to those taught at the Sciences Po with a timetable of 31.5 hours over the week. In general the first trial of this venture has been met with approval as much for its organisation as for its contents. A repeat of this event is eagerly anticipated by pupils, parents and teachers alike. Exam results For several years Charles de Gaulle High School has achieved great success in the baccalauréat and has gained results considerably higher than not only those across the rest of the Dijon local education authority but also those across the rest of France (97.5% in the 2007 academic year) years. Comparaison Baccalauréat Lycée ACA FRA school traditionally excels in exams and several students each year receive distinctions (188 in 2007 from 288 candidates). This success is the result of the quality of teaching but also the conditions this teaching is carried out in which allows pupils to expand their intellectual and cultural horizons over target pass rate has been above 100 for several years. We are therefore exceeding expectations based on the size of the school. graphs shown demonstrate the school s results are indeed excellent.