The Baccalauréat is the diploma and entrance exam that concludes French high school. In Türkiye it's the natural path for students at Lycée Pierre Loti, Charles de Gaulle, Saint Joseph, Saint Benoît, Notre Dame de Sion and other French-affiliated schools.
What is the BAC?
The Baccalauréat général (BAC) is the end-of-high-school diploma administered by the French Ministry of Education. It's also, in itself, sufficient qualification to enter French university: every BAC holder can, in principle, enroll in a state university (real placement is filtered via Parcoursup). The 2021 reform replaced the old S/ES/L tracks with a specialty (spécialité) selection system.
Structure and scoring
Under the current BAC, students take 3 specialities in Première and keep two of them in Terminale; those two are examined in writing in June. Main exam blocks: Français (in 11th grade, written + oral), Philosophie (12th grade, written), 2 speciality writtens and the Grand Oral. Contrôle continu (ongoing grades) contributes 40% of the diploma. Scoring is out of 20; 10 = pass, 12 = assez bien, 14 = bien, 16 = très bien mentions.
Who takes the BAC?
The BAC is mandatory for all students following the French high-school system. In Türkiye that primarily means Lycée Pierre Loti (Istanbul), Lycée Charles de Gaulle (Ankara) and students following the French curriculum via CNED or NATO. French: Turkish schools such as Saint Joseph, Saint Benoît and Notre Dame de Sion also prepare a portion of their students for the BAC.
BAC and university recognition in Türkiye
The BAC diploma is recognized by YÖK and can be used to apply to Turkish universities (private and state). In France it enables direct university placement via Parcoursup (Sorbonne, Sciences Po, ENS). It's also directly valid in Belgium, Switzerland, French-speaking Canada (Quebec) and Luxembourg. It is accepted at English-speaking universities (Oxbridge, Ivy League) too, usually requiring at least mention bien or très bien.