More than 500,000 high school students are taking the early baccalaureate exams with a new feature

More than 500,000 first-year general and technological high school students are scheduled to take the preliminary baccalaureate exams on Thursday and Friday. This annual event is marked this year by the introduction of a new mathematics exam, scheduled for Friday. Candidates began on Thursday with the traditional French exam, a key moment in their schooling. This 2026 session is part of a broader effort to strengthen the fundamentals of high school.

Increased spelling requirements

Students are facing increased pressure since the Minister of National Education asked examiners to be more demanding regarding mastery of the French language. Spelling will now be taken into account more strictly in the grading of the written exam. This ministerial directive reflects a desire to raise the overall level of high school students, which has been regularly criticized. Examiners have received clear instructions to penalize significant deficiencies in French.

Friday's mathematics exam is a first in the history of the baccalaureate. Its introduction aims to assess the basic skills of all students in this subject, including those who have not chosen mathematics as a specialization. This new feature adds to an already busy schedule for first-year high school students. The results of these two preliminary exams will count towards the final baccalaureate grade obtained the following year.