<Li> spring (printemps) or Easter (Pâques), two weeks starting in mid April; </Li> <Li> summer (été), two months starting in early July . (mid-June for high school students). </Li> <P> Schooling in France is mandatory from age 6 . Most parents start sending their children at age 3, at kindergarten classes (maternelle), which are usually affiliated to a borough's primary school . Some even start earlier at age 2 in pré - maternelle or très petite section classes, which are essentially daycare centres . The last year of kindergarten, grande section ("big form") is an important step in the educational process, as it is the year in which pupils are introduced to reading . </P> <P> After kindergarten, the young students move on to the école élémentaire (literally the "elementary school"). It is in the first year that they will learn to write and develop their reading skills . Much akin to other educational systems, French primary school students usually have a single teacher (or perhaps two) who teaches the complete curriculum, such as French, mathematics, science and humanities to name a few . Note that the French word for a teacher at the primary school level is maître, or its feminine form maîtresse (previously called instituteur, or its feminine form institutrice). </P>

When do french elementary students go to school