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Beginning at age 11-12, when they enter the class of sixième, and throughout their secondary studies until age 17-18, the life of a French student is entirely focused on passing the ²ú²¹³¦³¦²¹±ô²¹³Ü°ùé²¹³Ù exam.

 

For more than two centuries, ²ú²¹³¦³¦²¹±ô²¹³Ü°ùé²¹³Ù—from the Latin "laurel crown"—has been both a ritual of passage and the indispensable key to higher education.

 

The long road to the "bac," however, ends in a rather lackluster fashion: anxious students wait for their name to appear on a list (either on the internet or posted at the entrance of their ±ô²â³¦Ã©±ð) and either rejoice or lament ... and that's the end of it. No graduation ceremony, no caps and gowns, no party—just names on a list.

 

However this year, one school in France decided that the passing of the bac deserved something better than the usual impersonal notification. The International School of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in Manosque, attended by some 500 "ITER children," had good reason to celebrate in style: 27 seniors, among them the first students in France to sit for the European bac, and all of them passed.

 

Parents and friends who attended the ceremony on Saturday 6 July were witness to a very unusual event in France: young bacheliers wearing anglo-saxon style gowns and tossing their cap into the air amidst cheers and applause.

 

"We wanted to celebrate all of our graduates and have a formal moment together before they all head off in a different direction," explains international school Director Bernard Fronsacq.

 

"The young graduates," he adds, "now have a very strong academic base. But in organizing this event, they have also acquired something that is very important for their future: they have learned to work as a team. We are all very, very happy."