How to read this page
In Côte d'Ivoire, the first cycle of secondary school lasts four years: 6e, 5e, 4e and 3e (roughly ages 11 to 15). It ends with the BEPC, the lower secondary certificate. The official curricula are set by the Ministry of National Education and follow a competency-based approach: students must be able to use their knowledge to deal with real situations, not just recite lessons.
This page does not replace the official curricula or the order of topics set by each school. It presents the main topics usually studied at each level, to help you see where a student stands, spot what needs strengthening and understand how a difficulty in one year can carry over into the next. When in doubt, the subject teacher remains the best reference.
French
French is built in a spiral: the same areas come back every year, with higher expectations.
- Grammar and conjugation: from the simple sentence and parts of speech in 6e, students move on to grammatical functions, subordinate clauses and sequence of tenses in 4e and 3e. The indicative tenses are consolidated, followed by the subjunctive and the conditional.
- Spelling and vocabulary: agreement within the noun phrase, subject-verb agreement, then past participle agreement; vocabulary is built up through word families and lexical fields.
- Reading: study of varied texts (stories, tales, poems, plays, argumentative texts), with an increasingly close reading of meaning and writing techniques.
- Writing: narrative and descriptive texts in the early years, then argumentative texts; summary writing and essay writing in preparation for the BEPC.
Mathematics
| Year | Numbers and calculation | Geometry | Data handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6e | Whole numbers and decimals, operations, simple fractions | Lines, angles, circle, common shapes, reflection | Proportionality, reading tables |
| 5e | Negative numbers, fractions, order of operations | Triangles, parallelograms, point symmetry | Percentages, first statistics |
| 4e | Powers, algebraic expressions, linear equations | Pythagoras' theorem, triangle configurations | Statistics, applied proportionality |
| 3e | Square roots, special products, equations, inequalities and systems | Intercept (Thales) theorem, right-angled triangle trigonometry, vectors | Linear and affine functions, statistics |
In mathematics, each year builds on the one before. A student who did not understand fractions in 5e will struggle with algebra in 4e, then with equations in 3e. When a difficulty appears, it is often necessary to go back one or two years to fix it.
Physical sciences
Physics-chemistry introduces matter and its transformations, electricity, mechanics and optics. Students learn to observe, to measure using the right units, to carry out and describe an experiment, then to interpret a result. Mass, volume, electric circuits, voltage, current, mixtures and chemical reactions are introduced step by step up to 3e.
Life and earth sciences
Life and earth sciences (SVT) study living things and our environment: how the human body works (nutrition, breathing, reproduction, health), living things and their habitats, soils and rocks. The later years place emphasis on hygiene, disease prevention and protecting the environment. Students learn to work with documents, diagrams and observation results.
History-geography
- History: from the first civilisations and antiquity to the major periods of African and world history, up to colonisation, independence and contemporary Côte d'Ivoire.
- Geography: reading maps, reference points for Côte d'Ivoire, Africa and the world; population, natural environments, economic activity and land use.
The subject calls for solid reference points (dates, places, actors) and the ability to write an organised paragraph based on documents.
English
English is taught from 6e. The first years lay the foundations: introducing yourself, describing your surroundings, talking about your habits, using the present simple, the present continuous and everyday vocabulary. Students then move on to telling stories in the past (past simple), the present perfect, the future and modal verbs, along with understanding longer texts and writing arguments.
A second modern language, such as Spanish or German, is added during lower secondary school.
Human rights and citizenship education (EDHC)
EDHC (Éducation aux droits de l'homme et à la citoyenneté) prepares future citizens: knowledge of institutions, rights and duties, respect for others, community life, health and environmental protection. Everyday situations play a large part in this subject.
Other subjects
Physical education and sport, visual arts, music and, depending on the school, other subjects complete the programme. Physical education is also one of the BEPC tests.
Using this guide day to day
- For students: at the start of each term, tick the topics from the previous year that you have not mastered and start with them.
- For parents: ask your child to show you in their exercise books where they are in each subject, and compare with this guide.
- Before the BEPC: 3e topics come first, but gaps from 4e in mathematics and French weigh heavily.