Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles


The Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles, commonly called classes prépas or prépas, are part of the French post-secondary education system. They consist of two years of study which act as an intensive preparatory course with the main goal of training students for enrolment in one of the grandes écoles. Whereas enrollment in public universities in France is open to any school leaver with an adequate baccalauréat, enrollment in the grandes écoles is restricted to the highest-ranked students in a separate national competitive examination. Preparation for this examination entails one of the highest student workloads in Europe.
The grandes écoles are higher education establishments delivering master's degrees and rarely doctorates. They include science and engineering schools, business schools, the four veterinary colleges, the four écoles normales supérieures and the École Nationale des Chartes but do not include medical or law schools, nor architecture schools. Because of the competitive entrance exams, having attended one of the grandes écoles is often regarded as a status symbol, as they have traditionally produced most of France's scientists, executives and intellectuals. Each grande école uses one of three different examinations, each with its own prépas: scientific, economic, and literary.
Some preparatory classes are widely considered "elite", being extremely selective, and recruiting only the best students from each high school, if not the best student from each high school. These schools practically guarantee their students a place in one of the top grandes écoles. Among them are the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand, the Lycée Henri-IV, the Lycée Saint-Louis, the Lycée Janson de Sailly, the Lycée Hoche, the Lycée Stanislas and the Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève.

Admission

The CPGE are located within high schools for historical reasons but pertain to tertiary education, which means that each student must have successfully passed their baccalauréat to be admitted to CPGE. Moreover, the admission to the CPGE is usually based on performance during the last two years of high school, called première and terminale. Thus, each CPGE receives thousands of applications from around the world every April and May, and selects its new students under its own criteria. A few CPGE programmes, mainly the private CPGEs, also have an interview process or look at a student's involvement in the community.
In June 2007, 534,300 students passed the "Baccalauréat", and 40,000 of them were admitted to CPGE. On a given class at one of the prep schools listed above, around 1500 application files will be examined for only 40 places. Students are selected according to their grades in High school and the first part of "Baccalauréat".

Degree

Preparatory classes are officially not authorized to deliver any degrees, but they give ECTS credits that can be used to fulfill university degree requirements since the 2009-2010 academic year, and students who decide to carry on their studies at a public university.
However, many prépas also establish conventions with universities to validate a full 2nd or 3rd year degree upon graduation for CPGE students who perform well, especially in literary prépas. Most of the students in these classes receive part of their education at a public university, so that the teachers' council can deliver them the corresponding grade in one or two disciplines at the end of the year.

Organization

CPGE exist in three different fields of study: science & engineering, business, and humanities. All CPGE programs have a nominal duration of two years, but the second year is sometimes repeated once.

Scientific CPGE

The oldest CPGEs are the scientific ones, which can be accessed only Bacheliers having followed scientific courses during lycée. The different tracks are the following:
  • BCPST1, Biologie, Chimie, Physique, Sciences de la Terre in the first year, followed by BCPST2
  • MPSI, Mathématiques, Physique, Sciences de l'Ingénieur in the first year, followed by either MP or PSI
  • MP2I, Mathématiques, Physique, Ingéniérie et Informatique in the first year, followed by either MPI, MP or PSI
  • PCSI, Physique, Chimie, Sciences de l'Ingénieur in the first year, followed by PC or PSI
  • PTSI, Physique, Technologie, Sciences de l'Ingénieur in the first year, followed by PT or PSI
  • TB1, Technologie, Biologie in the first year, followed by TB2
  • TPC1, Technologie, Physique et Chimie in the first year, followed by TPC2
  • TSI1, Physique, Technologie, Sciences Industrielles in the first year, followed by TSI2
  • ATS, Adaptation Techniciens Supérieurs are specifically targeting BTS and DUT students and last only a year. They are mainly based on the curriculum of PTSI and PCSI and are subdivided into five branches: Biologie, Ingénierie Industrielle, Génie Civil, Métiers de la Chimie and Métiers de l'horticulture et du paysage.
The classes that especially train students for admission to the top schools, such as Écoles Normales Supérieures, École polytechnique and some other, have an asterisk added to their name. For example, MP*, is usually called MP étoile .
Both the first and second year programmes include as much as ten to twelve hours of mathematics teaching per week, ten hours of physics, two hours of literature and philosophy, two to four hours of foreign language teaching and two to eight hours of minor options: either SI, engineering industrial science, chemistry or theoretical computer science, biology-geology, biotechnologies. Added to this are several hours of homework, which can amount to as much as the official hours of class.
The BCPST classes prepare for exams of engineering schools of life sciences but also to veterinary schools, engineering schools of earth sciences, and the three Ecoles Normales Supérieures. Compare to the other classes, it teaches biology and geology.
In scientific CPGE, the first year of CPGE is usually called the maths sup, or hypotaupe (sup for "

Scientific competitive entry exam

There are unique entrance exams for each school, but there are also common exams, grouping several engineering schools, designed for students in preparatory science classes. Across all streams, students in preparatory science classes can register for the following common exams or exam banks:

Literary and humanities CPGE

There are two literary and humanities CPGEs.
The first of these prépas, nicknamed "hypokhâgne" for the first year and "khâgne" for the second year, is focused on a strong pluri-disciplinary course, including all humanities: philosophy, literature, history, geography, foreign languages, and ancient languages. The students are called the "hypokhâgneux" and the "khâgneux". These classes prepare for the entrance exam of the elite schools called Écoles Normales Supérieures, which are considered among the most difficult exams of the French system. Nevertheless, the students can now also apply for many other entrance exams.
There are three types of Khâgne:
  • Khâgne "Ulm", which prepares more specifically for the A/L entrance exam of the ENS Paris;
  • Khâgne "Lyon", which prepares more specifically for the A/L entrance exam of the ENS Lyon;
  • Khâgne "B/L", which prepares for the B/L entrance exam of the four ENS. Its particularity is the presence of mathematics and social sciences.
Now, the grouping of many examinations make the difference between khâgnes "Lyon" and "Ulm" is slight, and many prépas have mixed classes with many students preparing for both ENS.
Khâgneux can apply to many grandes écoles, other high schools and all universities, among which are the following:
Similar but distinct to Khâgne, the Classe préparatoire à l'École des chartes is the second literary and humanities CPGE. This prépa is divided into two different branches, known as "Chartes A", with an emphasis on medieval history and ancient languages, and "Chartes B", with an emphasis on contemporary history.
The followed curricula vary from year 1 to year 2:
  • In first year, Chartes A students follow courses in medieval history, modern history, French literature, foreign languages, Latin to French translation, plus a choice between French to Latin translation and ancient Greek to French translation. Chartes B, on the other hand, follow courses in modern history, contemporary history, French literature, foreign languages, plus a choice between Latin version, art history, geography and a second foreign language.
  • In second year, Chartes A and B students take the same set of courses as in year 1, with the addition of contemporary history for A students, and medieval history for B students.
The CPGE Chartes curricula are specifically tailored to prepare students for the entrance exam of the Ecole Nationale des Chartes, but students can also apply to CELSA and several Instituts d'études politiques.

Economics CPGE

Those CPGEs, which are focused on economics, are known as Prépa HEC and are split into three parts:

ECE1 (Economics and Commercial Economics way), followed by ECE2

Since 2021, ECE and ECS classes have been merged into a single "ECG" course, the French baccalauréat having been reformed.
CourseHours/week
Mathematics9 h
Economics, Sociology and History6 h
Further Economics2 h
Foreign Language 13 h
Foreign Language 23 h
Philosophy3 h
Literature3 h

ECT1 (Economics and Commercial Technological way), followed by ECT2

Classe préparatoire ECS are for those who graduated with the general Baccalauréat S, Classe préparatoire ECE are for those who graduated with the general Baccalauréat ES, while the Classe préparatoire ECT are for those who obtained a Baccalauréat Technologique.
Both the first and second year programms include ten hours of mathematics teaching per week completed by 6 hours of geopolitics, six hours of French and philosophy, and three hours of each language in the "ECS" section. The same applies to the "ECE" section, the difference being that students study for 8 hours Economics and Sociology with a historical focus instead of geopolitics.

Other Economics CPGE

There is also the D1 and D2 CPGE, also known as ENS Cachan CPGE:
  • D1 : the students attend both university and CPGE's School. They study civil law, economics, and they choose business law, public law or mathematics; one language, but they can study a second language for the Écoles de commerce, and general culture. At university, they study constitutional law, criminal law and administrative law. At the end of the two years, students go to ENS Rennes, École de commerce, Sciences Po or some selective university of law. This CPGE is open for Baccalauréats L, ES and S.
  • D2 : students attend both to university and CPGE's school.
D1 and D2 are very rare but offer a complete and multidisciplinary training.
  • ATS, "Economie et Gestion", pathway is also available for BTS and DUT students who wants to go on to a business school via entry in the 4th post-baccalaureate year instead of the 3rd like most CPGE.

Life in a CPGE

The "Khôlle"

The amount of work required from the students is exceptionally high.
In addition to class time and homework, students spend several hours each week completing exams and colles. The so-called "colles" are unique to the French academic education in CPGEs. They consist of oral examinations twice a week, in maths, physics, chemistry, biology and earth sciences, French and a foreign language, usually English, German or Spanish. Students, alone or in groups, spend 20 minutes to an hour facing a professor in a room, answering questions and solving problems. Similarly, in "ECE/ECS classes", students generally undergo 2 khôlles a week, each subject being regularly tested. Weekly exams often happen on Saturday mornings and last 2 to 6 hours, depending on the CPGE and on the subject being tested.
In "hypokhâgne/khâgne", the system of "colles" is a bit different. They are taken every quarter in every subject. Students usually have one hour to prepare a short presentation that takes the form of a French-style dissertation in history, philosophy, etc. on a given topic, or that of a commentaire composé in literature and foreign languages; as for the Ancient Greek or Latin, they involve a translation and a commentary. The student then has 20 minutes to present part of their prepared work to the teacher, who ends the session by asking some questions on the presentation and on the corresponding topic.
"Khôlles" are important as they prepare the students, from the very first year, for the oral part of the competitive examination. They are also useful to make sure they learn and understand lessons by testing them on a regular basis.

The "cinq demis"

A student who repeats the second year obtains the status of cinq demis. They were only trois demis during their first second-year and un demi in the first year. The explanation behind these names is that the most coveted engineering school is the École polytechnique, nicknamed the "X". A student who enrolls in this school after the second year of preparatory class is traditionally called a "3/2" because this is the value of the integral of x from 1 to 2.
The same idea is valid for cinq demis: the integral of x from 2 to 3 is "5/2".
Students in their first year of literary and business CPGEs are called bizuths and, in their second year, carrés. Students enrolled in their "second" second year are also called "cubes" or "khûbes", it being a synonym of "cinq-demi", and a few turn to bicarrés for a third and final second year. Some ambitious professors encourage their top students to avoid or postpone admittance to other prestigious schools in order to try to get a better school.