Middle school careers guidance
Exploring careers, identifying interests, talents, strengths and learning to plan for the future: these are the objectives that structure our actions.
The ambition of the Lycée Français de Madrid is to provide every student with the means to build a coherent academic and life project, open to a wide range of educational paths and professional horizons.
- Starting in Year 7 (“Sixième” – age 12), all LFM students continue learning three languages: French, Spanish, and English.
- Au début du cycle 4, en 5ème, ils peuvent personnaliser leur parcours en choisissant : l’enseignement de langue et culture européenne (ELCE anglais), ou le latin comme enseignement optionnel.
- In Year 9 (“Quatrième” – age 14), students who do not take “ELCE” can start the study of a third modern foreign language (German or Italian), which can be taken alongside the Latin option.
- At the end of Year 10 (“Troisième”- age 15), students can choose new linguistic pathways in high school (International Section – “SI”, European English or Spanish Sections – “SELO”) and artistic pathways (Visual Arts, Music, or Drama options).
Each year, an information meeting organised by the administration explains the organisation and objectives of these linguistic pathways and optional choices throughout the middle school years. Families can rely on the support of form tutors and language teachers to answer their questions. Informative videos created by the LFM teaching staff provide concrete presentations of the various options to offer information closely aligned with teaching practices.
These steps are not just academic choices: they are also opportunities for students to get to know themselves better, reflect on their interests, and strengthen their cultural openness and relationship with others.
Career discovery is an essential stage of the careers guidance journey in middle school. Meeting professionals, gathering information, and questioning gender bias enable the pupils to get a more accurate representation of today’s professions, thus encouraging them to broaden their perspective.
This career discovery programme relies on several key moments:
- The Year 10 (“Troisième” – age 15) Career Forum, where professionals from very diverse backgrounds exchange with students. These meetings, offered to students on both Condé and La Moraleja sites, help students get a more relevant understanding of potential careers and deconstruct certain stereotypes. They serve as a good introduction to their first internship, the first immersive experience in a working environment.
- The mandatory internship in Year 10 (“Troisième” age 15), supervised by the IT teaching team, enables students to discover a working environment, share the daily work of professionals, and benefit from a concrete experience. It is also an opportunity for students to gain self-reliance, build confidence in a new environment, and potentially confirm a career plan.
- Meetings with professionals also take place throughout the year based on class projects, in the multi-media library, or at the LFM theater as part of the Arts and Cultural Education Programme (PEAC), or during outings in Madrid and on school trips in Spain, France, or Europe.
- A partnership with the association “Elles bougent” also allows middle school girls to meet female professionals committed to scientific and technical careers. The objective is threefold: to prove that these careers (often seen as “masculine”) are accessible to girls, to allow teenagers to identify and relate to professionals thanks to their testimonies, and picture themselves in the future as scientists, technicians, and students, and perhaps to spark vocations: women in STEM! This is an opportunity for both boys and girls to reflect on gendered representations of careers.
These actions are prepared and supported by the administration, the teaching staff , and the Careers Advisors (called “Équipe PRIO”), who work in partnership with local actors (Chamber of Commerce, companies, alumni). This will allow every pupil to progressively build a solid, informed, and realistic project.
To put all these actions into perspective and give them meaning, students are invited to think of their four-year middle school journey as a “Pathway for the Future” supported by the whole educational staff. Reflective skills are progressively built, notably through:
- activities centered on self-knowledge (tests, workshops, interviews) to identify each individual’s interests and talents.
- the use of the GPO3 middle school platform, accessible via Pronote, which facilitates the exploration of careers and training sectors.
- preparation for the oral exam of the Middle School diploma (the “DNB” = “Diplôme national du Brevet”), which offers the possibility of presenting the Pathway for the Future in front of a jury, providing a true reflection on its different highlights.
This is the ambition of the Pathway for the Future: to make every student realise that interests and choices can evolve over time thanks to experiences and encounters made both in and outside class.
At the end of middle school, several paths are available to students:
- Year 11 (“Seconde” – age 16) at LFM, chosen by more than 90% of the pupils in Year 10 (“Troisième” – age 15), prepares for the French Baccalaureate and opens access to higher education in France, Spain, and internationally.
- Continuing studies in the Spanish system (ESO, then Bachillerato), although the most frequent change occurs after Year 11 (“Seconde” – age 16).
- The vocational path, in Spain or France, for students wishing to move towards more specialised training.
There are many bridges between these different systems. The LFM aims to support every family in their choices by offering personalised interviews with the Spanish Studies Department or the Careers advisors, information meetings on different educational systems, and access to digital resources like ONISEP via Pronote or the careers guidance corner at the Multimedia Library.
Careers guidance in middle school is not a stand-alone process: it is a progressive, supported, and thoughtful approach that enables every student to broaden their horizons and build their future with confidence, choosing the path that will lead to their success.
