The certificat d'études primaires (CEP) was a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

awarded at the end of elementary

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(from 11 to 13 years inclusive until 1936) and certifying that the student had acquired basic skills in writing, reading, mathematics, history, geography and applied sciences. It was officially discontinued in 1989. The official name of the CEP was "Certificat d'études primaires élémentaires" (CEPE); it was colloquially known as the "certificat d'études" or "certif'".

History

The certificat d'études primaires was created by a

circulaire In France, Italy, Belgium, and some other civil law countries, a ( French), ( Italian) or ( Dutch) consists of a text intended for the members of a service, of an enterprise, or of an administration. Within the French and Belgian civil servi ...

on August 20, 1866, under the influence of

Victor Duruy Jean Victor Duruy (; 10 September 1811 – 25 November 1894) was a French historian and statesman. Life Duruy was born in Paris, the son of a factory worker, and at first intended for his father's trade. Having passed brilliantly through the � ...

. On 1882, it was instituted by the

Loi Jules Ferry The Jules Ferry laws are a set of French laws which established free education in 1881, then mandatory and ''laic'' (secular) education in 1882. Jules Ferry, a lawyer holding the office of Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is widely cr ...

on March 28, 1882, which also established mandatory primary education for children from 6 to 13 years old.

History

See also