FAQ
What are the prerequisites to entering the SIS?
You have to be bilingual (English/French or German/French) either due to your family background or from having lived in an English-speaking or German-speaking country. There are a few exceptions...
...and that’s one of the reasons for the diversity of our student body.
1. Students who don’t speak very good French
I do not live in the Sèvres area. I live in another country and my mother tongue is German or English. Am I eligible to be in the Sections Internationales de Sèvres and how can I find housing?
For the lycée, to be admitted into the Sections, you must pass the entrance exam, have a good academic record at your previous school, be motivated and know enough French to be able to follow in the classes taught in French. Going to school in the SIS will help you make tremendous progress in French and learn about French culture from the "inside". We think this is a great idea and we encourage you to apply !
Finding somewhere to live should be no problem. We’ll put you in contact with families whom we know. We have several high school students studying in the Sections in this way every year and it has always been a very positive experience. This is an example of the lodgings that are available: >>
For the collège, the requirements are the same, but you can be accepted into 6ème (first year of secondary school) even if you only know a few words in French. Students in this situation are given an adapted and personalized timetable with French as a foreign language (FLE) classes and hours for individual work at school. This allows them to integrate the French system with greater ease.
For lodging, however, you must have family in the area who can house you.
2. Students who wish to transfer from a European Section
Being in a European Section is a good method for acquiring a decent level of English because they offer reinforced foreign language courses. Starting in the Lycée, and sometimes even as early as Collège, European Section students also have a DNL (Discipline non liguistique). This is a non-language course taught in the foreign language. Most of the time this will be a history/geography course. In International Sections, all of the courses are DNL because the 6 hours of classes per week are devoted to teaching litterature and history/geography.
These two subjects are taught by foreign teachers using the pedagogical methods of their country of origin. In contrast to European Sections, there is no notion of teaching a foreign language.
In short, students in a European Section in Collège who are very motivated and have spent some time in a foreign country can take the entrance exam for seconde (the first year of high school). Most of the time, these students enter the Cambridge group. See >>
Nota bene: students who are in a European Section at the Lycée de Sèvres in seconde, are not eligible to transfer into the International Sections in première or terminale (the last two years of high school). It is important to make up your mind which section you wish to attend before starting high school!
And in German?
The answer is the same as for English. The DSD group in German is the equivalent of the Cambridge group in English.
3. French speakers with little or no foreign language knowledge can apply to the German Section B group
My child is not bilingual in either German or English because we are a French speaking family and we have never lived abroad. However I am well aware of the evolution of society and would like him to experience the benefits of an international education. What are my options?
In English the program is geared towards children who speak English well, at all levels from primary through the end of secondary. To give an idea of the level expected, a child entering 6ème (first year of secondary) should have no trouble reading a book like Harry Potter.
In German, however, there is the B group. This group was created to allow French-speaking pupils to begin learning German in 6ème. Teachers from the International Section teach the group’s "inter" classes. They are mother-tongue German speakers, trained in their country. They teach German using German methods with a program for teaching beginners that was put in place several years ago. At the same time, students start English in 6ème with the regular program taught by the teachers from the French education system. At the end of troisième, B group students take the brevet (certificate) with an international option like all SIS students. In lycée, some B group students have attained a high enough level in German to join the OIB group.
What about the entrance exams - are they difficult?
- No, the part I found most difficult was the essay in French. Alex
- Yes, but not impossible to pass. Paul
- The tests are easy. Guillaume
Dernière modification le 23-11-07 par
