SHARE
COPY LINK

EDUCATION

School holidays in France: The dates you need to know

The new school year is about to begin in France but parents are already unhappy about some of the planned holiday dates.

School holidays in France: The dates you need to know
Photo: AFP

French parents (or at least those that work full time) often express their frustration about the number of school holidays, due to the difficulties in taking time off or finding someone to look after their offspring.

And just days before kids go back to school in France, parents are already expressing their disquiet, not so much over the sheer number of holidays (because they have more or less accepted that now) but over some of the dates.

The most controversial break this year is the annual La Toussaint (All Saints) holiday, which will take place from Wednesday October 19th until pupils return to classes on Thursday November 3rd.

The fact the two-week break begins and ends in the middle of the week has drawn criticism from parents who claim this oddly timed holiday will prove difficult to coordinate.

“The positioning of these holidays right in the middle of the week creates real disruption, notably for boarding school students,” a spokesperson from France’s Parents Federation (Federation des Conseils de Parents d’Elèves) told BFMTV.

Tourist industry chiefs have also expressed frustration because they fear the dates of the break will discourage families from going away.

With holiday rentals typically offered from Saturday to Saturday, there are also worries that the tourist industry may suffer from these inconvenient holiday dates.

Thierry Grégoire, a representative from French hotel group UMIH, told Europe 1 that “this makes no sense economically”.
 
However, government officials continue to defend their calendar, with Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem saying “55 organisations did not have anything to say about the Toussaint holiday”.
 
The minister added that holiday dates intend to strike the right balance between an “effective rhythm of learning” and “vital resting time” for students.
 
“It was decided in collaboration with parent organisations, trade unions and tourist organisations.”
 
The ministry explained that the current plan ensures that there are never more than seven weeks of school between each holiday.
 
For the winter and spring holidays, the amount of time between each break varies from 5 to 7 weeks depending on the school’s geographical zone.
 
France's school calendar is fixed for three academic years. The Education Ministry is in charge of deciding the schedule, alongside the interior, transport, tourism and agriculture ministries. 

Below is the full list of school holidays for the academic year 2016-2017:

Toussaint holidays : Wednesday 19th October to Thursday 3rd November 

Christmas holidays: Saturday 17th December – Tuesday 3rd January

Winter break:

-Zone A (Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers): Saturday 18th February – Monday 6thMarch

-Zone B (Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg): Saturday 11th February – Monday 27th February

-Zone C (Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles) : Saturday 4th February – Monday 20th February

Spring break :

-Zone A (Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers): Saturday 15th April – Tuesday 2nd May

-Zone B (Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg) : Saturday 8th April – Monday 24th April

– Zone C (Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles): Saturday 1st April –Tuesday 18th April

Ascension day: This year, students will not be guaranteed the Friday and Saturday morning off following Ascension Thursday.

Summer holidays: Saturday July 8th to Friday September 1st.

by Fatima Al-Kassab

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

SHOW COMMENTS