This network, described as a ‘national treasure’ by the President of the Republic, is unique in the world in terms of its size and composition, its coordination, its quality, and the cohesion and solidarity that exist within it.
Click HERE to access the website of the Agency for French Education Abroad.
In September 2023, this network coordinated by the AEFE will comprise 580 schools catering for more than 392,000 pupils in 139 countries. There is no equivalent anywhere else in the world.
This coordinated and united network is also unique in its diversity.
Unique, of course, in terms of the quality of teaching and educational excellence within the schools, guaranteed by accreditation granted and verified by the French Ministry of Education. It is also this accreditation that ensures educational continuity in the 139 countries where the schools are located and with France, something that no other educational system offers.
This quality is recognised and quantifiable through excellent exam results, particularly in the baccalaureate, with a pass rate of over 98% each year and many honours. For example, 98.3% of final-year students in the French education network abroad obtained their baccalaureate in the June 2024 session, 96.3% of whom received honours.
The network is coordinated by the AEFE, a public operator under the supervision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which constitutes its ‘backbone’ and is responsible for fulfilling a public service mission by enabling French children living all over the world to follow the French school curriculum, as well as a diplomatic mission of influence by welcoming two-thirds of pupils of other nationalities into the network, who form close and lasting bonds with their classmates and with France.
The network’s role in France’s foreign policy is highlighted in the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ roadmap for influence and also explains its ambitions: already the largest international educational network, it has embarked on a development drive to reach 700,000 students by 2030, known as Cap 2030, with the AEFE as the driving force.
This cohesion is inherent to the network. It stems from the coordination and groundwork carried out by the AEFE to improve the quality of teaching and staff training. It also manifests itself in very concrete ways when crises arise, whether pandemics or other types of crises (earthquakes, conflicts, etc.).
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