The Bac Français Iinternational programme will replace the OIB from September 2022. You will notice that a new subject (Connaissance du Monde) is being added to the current International Bac increasing the number of International Section teaching hours from 8h to 10h per week.

The weekly BFI subject breakdown in 1ère from September 2022 is:

• 4 hours will be dedicated to ACL (Approfondissement Culturel et Linguistique which is the equivalent of our current Language and Literature provision)
• 4 hours allocated to History-Geography (HG); no change there.
• 2 hours allocated to Connaissances du Monde (CDM). This is a novelty. It is a subject that can cover many areas such as history of ideas, politics, philosophy, geopolitics etc… The CDM curriculum content still needs to be defined. We already know that the aim of this module is for each student to work on an individual project based on personal interests.  The project should theoretically be organised in partnership with British partners/institutions.

All three subjects should be taught in English despite the fact the Ministry would expect half of the History and Geography curriculum to be taught in French. We do feel that a single language approach is less confusing and more rewarding for students.

As things stand, ACL and HG will have the same weighting (coefficient 20) and will be internally (contôle continu, coefficient 6) and externally assessed (1 oral and 1 written exam at the end of Terminale, coefficient 20).   CDM will be coefficient 20 and will be internally assessed through an oral presentation at the end of Terminale.

The full coefficient for BFI subjects is 60 (ACL20 + HG20 + CDM20) out of a possible 148. The BFI-specific subjects’ coefficient  therefore represents 40.5% of the overall BFI result at the end of Terminale. This is a significant shift that goes back to the higher coefficients students had before the recent réforme du bac. It is important to remember that CDM (Coeff 20) will be internally assessed and that the mark schemes used for ACL and HG are positive, rewarding and take into consideration the fact that it is a bilingual course. Our students should not feel threatened by this reform; quite the opposite, as our International Teaching and Learning provision is and will remain excellent and will cater for their needs.

It seems that International Section students will be able to choose all spécialités on offer apart from LLCE in a third language. This remains to be confirmed by the Lycée and the French authorities.

For more information on the matter here is the BO link for your perusal: https://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/22/Hebdo2/MENE2121403N.htm