What is SVT in the French school system?

SVT stands for sciences de la vie et de la Terre. It is biology and earth science taught as a single subject, from Sixieme through to Terminale, where it can be taken as a speciality. It covers genetics, immunology, physiology, evolution, ecology and geology, and it is graded as one subject.

Is SVT hard at the French Baccalaureate?

SVT can be scored very well at the Bac if the student commands the method. The papers assess the ability to build a structured scientific argument from a set of documents, not to recite definitions. I work on that skill from the start: reading a graph, forming a hypothesis, writing a structured conclusion.

Do you tutor SVT from college level?

Yes, from Sixieme onward, for students at Lycee Marie de France and College Stanislas. At college level, the difficulty usually comes not from the concepts but from the expectations around scientific method and writing. Building good habits early makes the transition to lycee far easier.

Montreal, French AEFE curriculum

SVT Tutoring in Montreal

Q: How is the SVT speciality graded in Premiere?

Since the 2021 reform, a speciality dropped at the end of Premiere has no terminal examination: it is assessed on the year's marks, through continuous assessment, with a coefficient of 8 in the Baccalaureate. Every assessment therefore counts. We consolidate the main ideas of the syllabus, then work on the written method the markers expect.

Tutor in SVT, sciences de la vie et de la Terre, in Montreal for the French AEFE curriculum. I work with students at Lycee Marie de France and College Stanislas, from college through to the Baccalaureate, in genetics, immunology, evolution and geology. Sessions in English or in French.

Sixieme to Terminale AEFE curriculum Lycee Marie de France College Stanislas Brevet and Bac ★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews

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SVT is biology and earth science in one subject

There is no direct English-language equivalent. SVT puts together what North American schools separate into biology and earth science, and grades them as one. A student can be strong on genetics and weak on plate tectonics and still see a single mediocre mark, which is confusing until you know how the subject is built.

The second thing to know is that SVT is not a memory subject in this system. The papers hand the student documents they have never seen and ask them to build an argument. Learning the content is necessary and not sufficient, and that gap is where most of the marks are lost.

Levels and syllabuses covered

College, Sixieme to Troisieme (Grades 6 to 9)

Introduction to the life sciences: the cell, reproduction, digestion, ecosystems, rocks and landscapes. Homework support through to lycee. Brevet preparation with the writing methods specific to the French curriculum.

Lycee, Seconde and Premiere (Grades 10 and 11)

Going deeper into the key themes: genetics, the nervous system, immunology, plate tectonics. In Premiere, the SVT speciality is graded through continuous assessment and that mark counts toward the Baccalaureate, whether or not the student keeps the speciality in Terminale.

Terminale, Baccalaureate preparation

Complete revision of the SVT syllabus for the Baccalaureate. The method of the scientific essay, practice on synthesis questions and preparation for the practical examination.

Topics taught

Genetics and molecular biology

DNA, genes, chromosomes
Gene expression (transcription, translation)
Meiosis, gametes, fertilisation
Heredity, Mendel's laws
Mutations, genetic diseases

Immunology and physiology

Innate and adaptive immunity
Antibodies, B and T lymphocytes
Vaccination, seropositivity
The nervous system, reflexes, synapses
Hormones, blood glucose regulation

Evolution and ecology

Natural selection, genetic drift
Relatedness between species, phylogeny
Biodiversity, ecosystems
Flows of matter and energy
Human impact on the environment

Geology and geophysics

Plate tectonics
Earthquakes, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
History of the Earth, dating
Natural hazards

The SVT method in the French curriculum

SVT in the AEFE curriculum is not about memorising definitions. The Baccalaureate papers assess the ability to write an argued synthesis from scientific documents. I work with students on the written method, on reading graphs and on organising their answers.

I know the practical examinations and the specific expectations of AEFE markers. The aim is that the student understands the biological and geological mechanisms, not that they recite them.

SVT is learned with method

Many students try to memorise SVT as a list of facts. That works badly, above all at lycee, where the papers demand reasoning from documents the student has never seen. My work starts by making the mechanisms make sense: why DNA is transcribed, how adaptive immunity works, why tectonic plates move. Once the logic is in place, the details settle far more easily.

I also work on the scientific writing specific to the AEFE curriculum. Students learn to read a graph, extract the useful information from a document, form a hypothesis and write a structured conclusion. Those skills are assessed at the Bac and very often separate an average mark from a good one.

For students preparing the Brevet in Troisieme, I also work on writing a synthesis in science, often neglected and nonetheless marked. A student well trained in scientific method in Troisieme arrives in Seconde with a real advantage.

Frequently asked questions

What is SVT?

Sciences de la vie et de la Terre: biology and earth science taught and graded as a single subject, from Sixieme to Terminale, where it can be taken as a speciality. It covers genetics, immunology, physiology, evolution, ecology and geology.

Is SVT hard at the Baccalaureate?

It can be scored very well if the student commands the method. The papers assess the ability to build a structured scientific argument from documents, not to recite definitions. I work on that skill from the start.

How is the SVT speciality graded in Premiere?

A speciality dropped at the end of Premiere has no terminal examination: it is assessed on the year's marks, with a coefficient of 8 in the Baccalaureate. Every assessment therefore counts. We consolidate the main ideas, then work the written method the markers expect.

Do you tutor SVT from Sixieme?

Yes, for students at Lycee Marie de France and College Stanislas from Sixieme onward. At that level the difficulty usually comes from the expectations around scientific method and writing rather than from the concepts. Good habits built early make the move to lycee far easier.