Life at School (AQA GCSE French): Revision Note
Exam code: 8652
Written by: Amy Bates
Updated on
Life at school
When talking about life at school, you could mention:
what subjects you study
your teachers
what a typical school day looks like
what facilities there is at your school
You can add opinion phrases, adjectives and comparatives to this information to say what you like and dislike about life at school.
Life at school: vocabulary
Some useful words and phrases to talk about the topic of life at school are:
Ma matière préférée est … - My favourite subject is …
J’apprends - I learn
J’étudie - I study
Use the definite article (le / la / les / l’) with the phrases above:
Ma matière préférée est le français
J’apprends les maths
J’étudie la science
Je porte - I wear
Il y a … - There is … / There are …
Category | French | Part of speech | English |
School subjects | géographie | n (f) | geography |
histoire | n (f) | history | |
informatique | n (f) | computer science | |
langue | n (f) | language | |
maths | n (fpl) | maths | |
musique | n (f) | music | |
physique | n (f) | physics | |
politique | n (f) | politics | |
religion | n (f) | religious studies | |
science | n (f) | science | |
technologie | n (f) | technology | |
théâtre | n (m) | drama | |
difficile | adj | difficult | |
facile | adj | easy | |
pratique | adj | practical | |
utile | adj | useful | |
School facilities | bâtiment | n (m) | building |
bibliothèque | n (f) | library | |
cour | n (f) | courtyard, playground | |
ordinateur | n (m) | computer | |
salle | n (f) | room | |
toilette | n (f) | toilets, bathroom | |
People at school | directeur | n (m) | head teacher |
étudiant | n (m) | student | |
professeur, prof | n (m) | teacher | |
élève | n (m) | pupil, student | |
The school day | classe | n (f) | class |
cours | n (m) | lesson(s) | |
devoirs | n (mpl) | homework | |
leçon | n (f) | lesson | |
récréation | n (f) | break, break time |
Higher tier only
These words are only required for Higher tier.
French | Part of speech | English | Examples | |
art | n (m) | art | Ma matière préférée est l’art. | My favourite subject is art. |
cahier | n (m) | exercise book | Où est mon cahier d’anglais ? | Where is my English exercise book? |
rentrée | n (f) | start of the school year | J’aime la rentrée parce que je vois mes amis. | I like the start of the school year because I see my friends. |
There are many differences between the French and English school system:
Students generally don't wear a uniform (un uniforme) to school
They buy their own stationery supplies (e.g. exercise books)
Schools often have a shorter day on a Wednesday, closing at lunch time
The general word for school is école
Students attend le collège (secondary school) aged 11-15
They attend le lycée (college, sixth form) aged 15-18, where they study the equivalent to A levels (le baccalauréat)
French school years are named differently to English:
première - year 12
seconde - year 11
troisième - year 10 (Higher tier only)
quatrième - year 9
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