Education System in Guadeloupe

Primary Education

Guadeloupe is a French Department and so the Caribbean island follows the French education model. This means that education is free and compulsory from age 6 to 16, and that the medium of education is French. Following an optional period at pre-primary école maternelle, children enrol at école primaire at age 6, where they study for 5 years.

Middle Education

The first phase of secondary education lasts 4 years and takes place at middle schools called colléges. When this stage is complete, students are free to write a leaving examination and seek work as they may wish.

Secondary Education

Students wishing to study further and perhaps go on to university remain at secondary schools for 3 more years that are called lycées. Here they can choose between a general or a technical stream, according to the French model once again.

Tertiary Education

The primary tertiary education provider on Guadeloupe is the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane depicted here. It has schools of economics, law, natural sciences, social sciences, and medicine.


The Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres is affiliated with the university and provides a teacher training facility. The institute requires a bachelor’s degree for admission, on which it builds a 2-year further education program comprising subject specialization and teaching techniques.