Frequently asked questions
PSAB is a very active community of parents, teachers and pupils.
PSAB is an organization of volunteer parents that represents you at all levels of the school administration. We have long-standing relationships with the heads of the different schools so we can bring up any concerns you may have with the appropriate administrator to make sure your voice is heard and advocate on your behalf.
We also support different school activities and host events throughout the year such as the Parent/Teacher Wine & Cheese Evening and the Terminal Graduation ceremony. For all of this to happen, we need your support and involvement. You can sign up to become a member, right here on www.psab.fr/join. Thank you!
Saltimbuc
SaltimBuc is our Anglophone section’s resident theatre troupe. This all-English-language activity meets every Saturday afternoon and welcomes bilingual students from primary, college and lycée, in a fun, friendly, and dedicated effort toward two common goals: improving our expression and communication skills and putting on a great show!
Graduation ceremony
An amazing ceremony, with guest speakers, the principal, teachers, parents, and last but not least the students in caps and gowns!
PotLuck
Back to School PotLuck is PSAB's Fall get-together. Usually held in September/October, it kicks off the year's activities and celebrates in style the French "rentree".
Parent/Teacher Wine & Cheese evening
PSAB helps the teachers organize this event, usually in the Fall.
MLK and LFA Open Houses, Entrance Exams days
PSAB helps the teachers organize these events, and welcomes visiting families.
Incoming 6th graders Tour of MLK Middle School
PSAB organizes a tour of the collège, an opportunity for the incoming 6th graders to meet their classmates, their teachers, MLK staff and to tour the school before the summer.
Field Day
Our annual field day is held in the spring and is a chance for all the members to meet up for a picnic and to pit themselves against others in a fun sporting event for all the family.
Parents' nights out
An opportunity to share advice ideas, give support, and make new friends while having a good time together.
Primary Crepe party
A fun get-together to welcome new families and build connections.
In France, the Recteur d'Académie is chosen by the Council of Ministers and appointed by decree of the President of the Republic. A Recteur is in charge of an Académie, which is the local administrative entity specific to the French national public education service.
The Recteur, who is also Chancellor of the Universities, rules the education policy in the Académie he/she is in charge of, under the authority of the Minister of Education. A Recteur is both a manager and a leader.
The Recteur has full control over the three school levels: primary, secondary and higher education, which gives him/her authority over the whole teaching or administrative personnel he/she is responsible for.
The local administration offices are based in the city where the Recteur is appointed. Decentralized services are at the disposal of the Recteurs: they are called Inspections Académiques. At the smaller administrative scale of a département, these services are supervised by an Inspecteur d'Académie - Directeur des Services Départementaux de l'Éducation Nationale (IA-DSDEN).
The local administration of the Académie, called the Rectorat, includes all the administrative services that manage the different categories of personnel.
Range of action and authority of a Recteur
Recteurs are responsible for appointing the necessary personnel in the Lycées (High Schools) and Collèges (Junior High Schools) over which they have educational control. They determine the general pedagogical structure of all schools. Along with the local authorities, they organize the provisional investment programs. They distribute the amount of money each school receives for its pedagogical initiatives, and appoint the necessary personnel.
They manage the careers of numerous secondary-level teachers, and they have authority to inspect all the personnel appointed in their Académies. They organize most final exams, choose their contents, appoint the juries and countersign the national diplomas.
The school system from nursery school (kindergarten) to Higher Education
The first year of primary school is called Cours Préparatoire or CP. There are different key stages for four other years until they reach the last year of primary school (Cours Moyen 2ème année or CM2).
French pupils start learning one or several foreign languages (mostly English but also German) as young as 7 or 8 years old.
Between the ages of 10 and 12, pupils start their secondary education in a Collège where they will attend 4 years from what is called Sixième to Troisième, ending with their taking a national exam called Diplôme National du Brevet. In general, these French pupils study two foreign languages. It is then time for them to make a choice: either join a Lycée (a school providing secondary education for the three years after Collège), go to a vocational school or learn a trade as an apprentice. In 3 years, French pupils attending a Lycée prepare to sit for their Baccalauréat final exam which can be academic, technological or vocational. They may in some cases learn a third foreign language. The Baccalauréat is the first university diploma which opens the doors to higher education.
Once they have passed, they can enrol at any university. They can also choose to stay at school for two more years and either join a preparatory class to enter one of the Grandes Écoles or prepare a higher vocational diploma (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur: BTS).
Section Internationale Anglophone de Buc runs across three schools based in Buc that participate in providing free English education, teaching English, History and Geography for kids aged 9 through 18. These years correspond to the Primary school, the Collège and Lycée.
The schools that compose the section are :
- Louis Clément (Primary)
- MLK or Martin Luther King (College),
- LFA or Lycée Franco Allemand (Franco German Lycée)
In collège, lessons take place from 8:45am to 4:10 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and on Wednesday 8:45am - 5:10pm. These schedules make it possible to take the buses of the many lines serving both schools. Recent timetable changes mean some lessons can start at 8:10am or finish at 5:10pm, meaning that only the regular public transport can be used.
At lycée, lessons start in general at 8:45 and finish between 4:25pm and 6:15pm, Monday to Friday.
Pupils of collège and lycée can eat lunch at the Lycée Franco-Allemand 5 days per week.
Registration is yearly, and payments are made per month.
At collège level: pupils of the section follow the national program in all the subjects including German which is taught as a first foreign language starting in sixième. The six hours each week of history and English literature are taught according to a Franco-British program by mostly native English-speaking teachers. Moreover the pupils have the possibility of learning Spanish as a second language as of cinquième.
At the end of troisième, pupils take the Brevet des collèges Option Internationale, with examinations in English literature and history.
At lycée level, pupils of the section follow the national program in all the subjects. German is taught as a first foreign language. Arrangements can be made for pupils who need beginner-level classes in German, if they did not start German at an earlier level. The timetable includes five hours weekly of English literature and 3 hours of history-geography taught according to a Franco-British program by mostly native English speaking teachers.
At the end of Première, the pupils take the French part of the baccalaureate. In Terminale they take the exams of the remainder of their subjects for the French baccalaureate, as well as the examinations of the baccalaureat français international (BFI, formerly OIB), British section, in English literature and history-geography. These examinations comprise written and oral elements.
This program is for French-English bilingual pupils. Most candidates come from either anglophone families living in France or French families back from a stay in an English-speaking country. Another frequent constellation consists of binational French-English speaking families residing in the area.
The Anglophone countries represented are the UK, Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mauritius and India. Families of the section live in the departments of south-west Paris. There is no 'sector' requirement to live in a certain geographical zone, and the extensive bus network allows students to travel from quite some distance.
The Imagin’R ticket is valid in all public transport in the Ile-de-France area 7 days a week. You can subscribe and pay online :
Forfait imagine R Scolaire | Île-de-France Mobilités (iledefrance-mobilites.fr) for collège and lycée students
Forfait imagine R Junior | Île-de-France Mobilités (iledefrance-mobilites.fr) for primary school children
If you cannot sign up online, it is also possible to pick up an application form at your local train station or bus depot : Carte des points de vente | Île-de-France Mobilités (iledefrance-mobilites.fr)
The section is located in state schools of the Academy of Versailles, and so tuition is free. There is no charge to attend Section Internationale in Buc.