Social segregation between secondary schools A reflection of residential segregation clearly amplified by family choices, particularly towards private education

The social segregation observed in secondary schools partly reflects residential segregation: in large cities, due to school catchment areas, the social profiles of public secondary schools are highly differentiated, just like the social characteristics of the neighbourhoods in their catchment area. Nonetheless, family choices significantly increase social segregation between pupils entering secondary school: in the cities of Paris, Bordeaux and Clermont-Ferrand considered here, this segregation would be less by between one-third and a half if students were educated in their neighbourhood public secondary school. This increase in segregation is explained mainly by certain families choosing private education: the social make-up of pupils educated in a private secondary school differs significantly from that of the pupils in their neighbourhood who stay in a public secondary school. Selecting a public secondary school outside the school catchment area only marginally increases segregation between schools: while the pupils involved sometimes have a social background different from that in their catchment area, they end up mixing with schoolmates from varied social backgrounds in their secondary school.