My account Contact me

Baccalaureate, North America examination centre

Preparing the French Baccalaureate from New York

Baccalaureate preparation for Terminale students at the French schools of the New York area: the Mathematics speciality, the Physics-Chemistry speciality, NSI, the Maths Expertes and Maths Complementaires options, and the Grand oral. Practice on past papers from the North America examination centre, the one that covers the United States and Canada alike.

This is the point that changes everything: my students in Montreal and your children sit the same paper, on the same day. For more than 10 years I have prepared exactly this examination zone, not the metropolitan one.

North America zone Scientific specialities Grand oral Timed mock papers ★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews
Get in touch WhatsApp

Where the marks actually come from

The final grade is spread over 100 points. Reading this table once tells a family where to put the effort, and it is rarely where they assume.

Component Coefficient When
Speciality 1, Terminale 16 Written terminal paper
Speciality 2, Terminale 16 Written terminal paper
Grand oral 10 Oral terminal examination
Philosophy 8 Written terminal paper
French written, anticipated paper 5 End of Premiere
French oral, anticipated paper 5 End of Premiere
Continuous assessment 40 Premiere and Terminale report cards

Two things stand out. The two specialities alone are worth nearly a third of the diploma, which is why scientific preparation dominates the year. And continuous assessment, at 40 points, is already partly banked before the examinations begin: a weak Premiere cannot be repaired in June.

Why the examination zone matters

Baccalaureate papers are not the same everywhere. They are written and published by examination centre, and the New York schools belong to North America, alongside the French lycees of Canada. Your child will not sit the paper that circulates on French revision sites in June.

Two practical consequences. The recurring exercises and the way the papers are built differ from one centre to another, so practice has to be on the right past papers. And the North America dates are among the earliest in the whole network, which means the syllabus has to be finished well before a student in France finishes theirs.

Exact dates are published each year by the ministry and by the school. Always check them with the lycee: the entire revision plan is built backwards from them.

The Terminale year, backwards from the paper

A realistic plan for a student in the North America zone, given that they sit earlier than most of the network and often have AP examinations in the same window.

September to November

Consolidate the Premiere foundations, while there is still time

This is the window families waste most often. Gaps from Premiere, particularly in differentiation, sequences and algebra, cost far more in Terminale than they cost last year. Two months of targeted repair in the autumn is worth six months of remediation in the spring.

November to January

Move ahead of the official syllabus

The North America zone sits early. A student following exactly the pace of their class reaches the paper having barely met the final chapters. So we get ahead on the end-of-year material, particularly integral calculus and geometry in space.

January to March

Mock papers, past papers from the zone, and the required proofs

We move to complete papers, timed, marked against the official scheme. In parallel, memorising the required proofs listed in the syllabus: those are marks known in advance that too many students let go.

March to the examination

Format, time management and the Grand oral

No new chapters, only practice on complete papers and work on the Grand oral. This is also when the AP examinations fall, which makes the organisation of the week decisive.

Handling the Bac and the AP examinations in the same spring

AP examinations are in May, and the North America speciality papers are early. The two collide, and that is the practical problem of a Terminale student in New York rather than the syllabus itself.

The answer is to cover the content once and the formats separately. The Mathematics speciality and AP Calculus share most of their syllabus, so the substance is done in common. A few sessions then go on what genuinely differs: justified writing for the Bac, speed of execution for the AP. See the mathematics page for the detail.

The specialities prepared

Mathematics speciality

Limits, integration, the logarithm, sequences and induction, geometry in space, probability. Plus the Maths Expertes and Maths Complementaires options.

Physics-Chemistry speciality

Newtonian mechanics, waves, thermodynamics, kinetics and organic chemistry, plus the practical examination, which is prepared separately.

NSI speciality

Python, data structures, databases, recursion, plus the practical examination on a machine.

Grand oral

Choosing the topic decides half the result. Then the presentation, rehearsal over video, and mock examinations with unpredictable questions. Coefficient 10.

Frequently asked questions

Which examination zone do New York students sit in?

The North America centre, covering the French schools of the United States and Canada. A student at the Lycee Francais de New York and one at Lycee Marie de France in Montreal sit the same paper on the same day. It is the zone whose past papers I have worked for more than 10 years.

What are the coefficients?

Out of 100 points: continuous assessment 40, the two specialities 16 each, the Grand oral 10, philosophy 8, and the two anticipated French papers 5 each. The two specialities alone are worth nearly a third of the diploma.

When are the papers sat?

The North America speciality papers are among the earliest in the network, so the syllabus has to be finished considerably earlier than in France. Exact dates are published each year and must be checked with the lycee.

How do you handle the Bac and AP in the same year?

By covering the content once and the formats separately. The Mathematics speciality and AP Calculus share most of their syllabus, so the substance is done in common, then a few sessions go on justified writing for the Bac and speed for the AP.

When should preparation start?

Ideally at the start of Terminale. Starting in January still helps if it concentrates on high-yield chapters and practice under real conditions. Starting in April mainly secures method and time management.

Going further

All the French schools of New York

The hub page: the schools of the area and how the follow-up works.

Maths tutoring in New York

The syllabus in detail, plus AP Calculus, IB and SAT Math.

The French Baccalaureate explained

Structure, examinations, coefficients and what the diploma is worth abroad.

The Terminale year

The full syllabus, the specialities and what the final year demands.

A Terminale student in New York?

Tell me the school, the two specialities kept, and whether AP examinations are in the same spring. I will propose a weekly slot after school, Eastern time, and a plan built backwards from the North America dates.

Contact me WhatsApp
Site by Studio Squalli