More details about the Grand Oral

The exam allows candidates to show their ability to speak in public clearly and convincingly. It also allows them to put the knowledge they have acquired, particularly in their specialties, at the service of an argument, and to show how this knowledge has shaped their plans for further study, or even their career plans.

Arrangements

• Duration: 20 minutes
• Preparation: 20 minutes
• Coefficient: 10

The final oral exam is one of the five final exams of the baccalaureate. It is compulsory for all candidates, who take it under the same conditions.

Format and organisation of the exam

The exam takes place in three stages.

› First stage: presentation of a question (5 minutes)

At the start of the exam, the candidate presents two questions to the jury. These questions relate to their two specialties, either separately or across both. They highlight one of the major issues of the syllabus of these subjects. They are based on all or part of the final-cycle syllabus. For students in school, they have been devised and prepared by the candidate with their teachers and, if they wish, with other students. The candidate gives the questions to the jury on a sheet signed by their specialty teachers and stamped by their school.

The jury chooses one of the two questions. The candidate has 20 minutes of preparation to organise their ideas and, if they wish, to produce a support document, which they will hand to the jury on a sheet provided. This document is not assessed. The candidate gives the presentation without notes.

The candidate explains why they chose to prepare this question during their studies, then develops it and answers it. The jury assesses the candidate's ability to argue and their speaking skills.

› Second stage: discussion with the candidate (10 minutes)

The jury then questions the candidate to lead them to clarify and deepen their thinking. It may question the candidate on any part of the final-cycle syllabus of their specialties and thus assess the soundness of their knowledge and their ability to argue.

› Third stage: discussion of the candidate's plans for further study (5 minutes)

The candidate explains how the question they dealt with sheds light on their plans for further study, or even their career plans. They describe the different stages in the development of their plans (encounters, commitments, work placements, international mobility, interest in common subjects, choice of specialties, etc.) and how they intend to pursue them after the baccalaureate. The jury assesses the candidate's ability to carry out and express personal reflection showing intellectual curiosity and the ability to express their motivations.

The candidate gives the first-stage presentation standing up, except for special arrangements for candidates with specific needs. For the second and third stages of the exam, the candidate may sit or stand, as they wish.

If the question concerns the specialty in foreign and regional languages, literatures and cultures, each of the first two stages of the final oral exam may take place partly in the language of that specialty, at the candidate's choice.

Composition of the jury

The jury is made up of two teachers from different subjects: one represents one of the candidate's two specialties, and the other represents the other specialty or one of the common subjects, or is a teacher-librarian.

Assessment

The Grand Oral is marked out of 20. The jury values:

• the soundness of the candidate's knowledge,
• their ability to argue and to connect different areas of knowledge,
• their critical thinking,
• the precision of their language,
• the clarity of their presentation,
• their personal commitment in what they say,
• their power of persuasion.