That was my reaction when I received the result of my candidature to École Jeannine Manuel Paris.
You may ask yourself "Bro why are you so excited ? It's just a school..."
Well let me tell you, it's not "just a school"... It's France's best high school !
Ooo I see, but why is it the best high school of France ?
First, it is not only France's best high school, but also the best IB school of France, and one of the best in the world.
Don't trust me ? Here is the official website of the IB diploma where you can find the best IB schools of the world. Jeannine Manuel scored 49th ! It scored 39 points out of 45 last year and on average the other years about 36 points when the world average is only 24 points. Learn more about the school's results on this website (take a look at its school profile, it's really interesting).
-École Jeannine Manuel's IB results,
from the IB's official website (2021 results)
Second, even journals talk about their amazing success : on this link and this other link, read Le Figaro's reports on the school (bro they wrote 2 reports isn't that amazing). For your information, Le Figaro is one of the most well-known French newspapers.
-Le Figaro's report on EJM (2021)
What does being a student at Jeannine Manuel look like ?
First, here are the most important aspects of EJM's organisation :
There are 3 campuses : Paris (the one I'm gonna talk about), Lille (the only one that is a boading school), and London (which opened in 2014 and is the most recent EJM school)
-EJM's 3 campuses (image
taken from their website)
Being proficient in English is mandatory, as all the lessons are taught in English. For those who don't speak French, a special "Adaptation" curriculum has been designed by the school to teach French to them.
EJM offers 2 types of baccalaureat (at least for the Paris and Lille campuses) : the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the French Baccalaureate with International option. In their website, they say that students can also take the High School Diploma, but I, being in the IB system, haven't heard of it and nobody offered it to us (in 10th grade), so to be continued...
OR
OK, I think I've covered eveything.
So, about EJM : it is amazing.
Nah, to be honest, as I come from a reaaaally small school, I was quite surprised with EJM's Paris campus. It has a ton of buildings, and it seems like there were about 10 different architects who worked here because almost every building has an unique design : some have stairs made of steel, others have stairs made of stone, some have 3 floors, others only have 1... I don't think I'm allowed to post pictures of the school, so I can only describe it to you -_-.
Then, the people here are super nice and everything, I really mean it EVERYTHING is here to help you. Literally, there is a "point écoute" where you can anonymously tell your problems to a specialist via a call every Monday, every single teacher is available to help you if you have any personal problem, you can talk to the délégués (class representatives) if you need to, or even to the C.A.R.E. committee. So damn much is organized around well-being at EJM, and it creates a really welcoming atmosphere.
About clubs, as I said, I come from a small school (more like a smol school that takes even less space than the word "small") and we didn't have any student-created club. At EJM, there is almost an infinity of clubs, student-led or teacher-led. It goes from debate club to neuroscience club, not forgetting the press club.
- EJM's page about clubs and activities.
-EJM's press club, Le Bilingue, which I'm part of :). Click here to access their website
Academically, you've already seen that EJM's level is excellent, and their faculty (team of teachers) is truly exceptional. All the way through high school, students regularly have 1-1 meetings with a teacher or a college counsellor to see which university or curriculum best fits the students. These meetings are more than welcome, as a lot of student, me included, are quite worried about entering university.
In conclusion, I just want to say that if you are looking for an international education in France, EJM really is an excellent choice (I'm talking about the Paris campus, but the Lille campus is also a good one).
Admissions at Jeannine Manuel :
Being France's best high school, I guess that you've already come to the conclusion that it is hard to get into Jeannine Manuel.
When I was looking for reviews of how hard the admission tests would be, or some students sharing their personal experience, I got literally 0 real reviews and I was pretty annoyed. That's why I'm here to share my experience !
Anyway, let's delve into the admission world (like the real thing).
I discovered EJM (École Jeannine Manuel) quite by chance while typing "best high school France" and didn't have any other source of information than their school website, so all I could do was to apply without any student review of the school. Their admission process usually starts on the 15th of September and ends on the 31st of December each year.
Note that for international students who do not live in France, there is no real deadline and that they can apply whenever they want.
The whole admission process is really clear (see picture below). A few points that could help you during the admission process :
The school presentation gives plenty of info, so make sure you attend to one of them
The deadlines - 15th of September and ends on the 31st of December - are starting-to-apply deadlines. This means that you can upload documents to your application page after the 31st but you have to be registered before the 31st.
You can apply without having some documents and you'll be able to add in more documents even after the 31st (for example, you can start your admission procedure even if you don't have your 2nd-trimester file - kinda obvious cuz the admissions stop before the start of the 2nd term - and upload that file after the 31st)
Some applicants (me included) will be asked to take additional tests in English or in Maths. See below the picture where I'll talk more in detail about it *.
At step 5, the pre-selected students will be interviewed by a member of the admission team. This does not mean that you are accepted (sad right ?) but you're still on the right path :)
The school's admission page
* About the additional tests : I had to take both English and Maths tests. If you also have to do them, don't panic, it's just a way for them to check your level in each subject. It doesn't mean that you'll get into EJM or not (I know a friend who did these tests but got refused -_-).
The English test was about basic knowledge of reading and writing skills. Anyone who speaks English fluently and has had some English writing and reading lessons is prepared for the test.
The Math test was a bit harder. As I came from a quite good secondary school, I solved them with no problem, but I do reckon that some points were not covered in the French Education (I was in a school that had its own system. For the French readers, it was an "école hors contrat"). If you have this test, I do recommend that you check Yvan Monka's YouTube channel and advance a bit yourself (he's a maths teacher and gives a lot of little lessons on YouTube). WARNING : his lessons are in French.
That's it for my admission experience ! To be honest, I don't really have much to say except good luck ! I was really stressed about getting into it, but if I could give you one piece of advice before getting into the admission process, it's this : Do your best and that's it. Respect deadlines and just chill 😎.
Have any questions or comment ? Type them below, I'll answer as soon as possible !