The collèges and lycées around Pau get better results than those around 62% of compared French towns
Near Pau, 91.0% of collège pupils passed the brevet, below Pyrénées-Atlantiques’ towns (95.0%) but above compared French towns (87.5%). 10 collèges and 10 lycées with 2025 results and value added are within 5 km (3 miles) of Pau. Pau grades B for schools, on their brevet and bac pass rates and value added: #36 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The social position index (IPS) is shown, not graded.
The town’s figures are weighted by candidates across the schools within 5 km; the comparison is the median of compared French towns (those with an overall grade).
Collège privé La Salle - Saint-Joseph beats its expected rate
100% of 42 candidates passed the brevet at Collège privé La Salle - Saint-Joseph in 2025, 9 points more than the ministry expected from its pupils’ backgrounds and ages. Results and background ↓
Private collèges
5 of the 12 collèges within 5 km are private, under contract with the state: they teach the national curriculum and their pupils sit the same brevet. They count in the grade like the public ones. Every school ↓
Very different intakes
The collèges within 5 km take pupils from very different homes: the social position index runs from 85 at Collège Clermont to 139.6 at Collège privé Sainte-Ursule. It is shown for context and never graded. Results and background ↓
Written from the Ministry of Education (DEPP) data on this page.
School Grade
Pau grades B for schools
Against every compared French town with a collège or lycée within 5 km.
Collèges: brevet pass rate and value added (91.0%, as expected)Better than 69% of compared French towns
Lycées: bac pass rate and value added (93.9%, as expected)Better than 50% of compared French towns
Each of the 12 collèges: % passing the brevet (2025)
Each of the 5 lycées: % passing the general and technological bac (2025)
Each of the 7 lycées: % passing the vocational bac (2025)
The average French school of its kind
2+ points above the expected rateClose to the expected rate2+ points belowNo value added published
The grade uses every collège and lycée within 5 km of Pau with 2025 results and value added, public and private under contract: 10 collèges (1,116 candidates) and 10 lycées (1,965). Each school’s pass rate and value added are compared with every French school of its kind, then weighted by candidates; collèges and lycées count equally. 3 schools have results but no value added published, so they are listed, not graded. A school can count for several towns.
Results and background
Which schools do better than their pupils’ backgrounds suggest
The line is the typical French school for each social position index; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot’s color is the ministry’s value added.
Collèges: brevet pass rate against social position index
Lycées: general and technological bac against social position index
2+ points above the expected rateClose to the expected rate2+ points belowNo value added published
Schools whose pupils come from better-off homes usually get higher pass rates. The ministry’s value added already allows for that, and for pupils’ ages: of the 15 schools here, 7 are 2 points or more above the expected rate and 5 2 points or more below.
Show as a table
School
IPS
Pass rate
Value added (points)
Collège privé La Salle - Saint-JosephBrevet · Private
117.5
100%
+9 pts
Collège innovant Pierre EmmanuelBrevet · Public
101.6
96%
+8 pts
Collège privé Nicolas Barré Saint-MaurBrevet · Private
101.5
88%
+6 pts
Collège du Bois d'AmourBrevet · Public
103
91%
+3 pts
Collège privé Saint-DominiqueBrevet · Private
136.3
100%
+2 pts
Collège privé Sainte-UrsuleBrevet · Private
139.6
100%
+2 pts
Collège Ernest GabardBrevet · Public
111.9
96%
+2 pts
Lycée privé Saint-DominiqueBac, gen. & tech. · Private
131.7
100%
+1 pt
Lycée privé Immaculée ConceptionBac, gen. & tech. · Private
136.2
100%
+1 pt
Lycée Saint-John-PerseBac, gen. & tech. · Public
114.9
96%
−1 pt
Collège des LavandièresBrevet · Public
124.3
94%
−2 pts
Lycée Louis BarthouBac, gen. & tech. · Public
124.2
96%
−2 pts
Lycée polyvalent Saint-CricqBac, gen. & tech. · Public
121.7
95%
−3 pts
Collège Jeanne d'AlbretBrevet · Public
97
85%
−4 pts
Collège ClermontBrevet · Public
85
69%
−6 pts
IPS: DEPP’s social position index, 2024–25, from parents’ occupations (France’s average pupil ≈ 100). It describes; it doesn’t grade. Value added: the school’s pass rate minus the rate expected from its pupils’ backgrounds and ages.
Map
The schools within 5 km of Pau
The dashed circle is 5 km (3 miles) from the town’s point, the center of where its residents live; the black outline is the commune.
CollègeLycéePrimary school in PauSize: candidates2+ points above the expected rateClose to the expected rate2+ points belowNo value added published
Points: the Ministry of Education’s school directory.
The schools
12 collèges and 11 lycées within 5 km of Pau
Each with its 2025 result and its value added: how far its pass rate is above or below what the ministry expected from its pupils. 10 collèges and 10 lycées are in the grade; the others publish results without value added. Distances from the town’s point.
Collèges12 · ages 11 to 15, brevet · best value added first
Ecole primaire privée internationale school of Béarn
Primary school · Private · 2 mi
Ecole privée Montessori de Pau
Primary school · Private · 2.4 mi
Results: DEPP, brevet (IVAC) and bac (IVAL) 2025. Not in the grade: a school with results but no value added published (often a small one). Primary schools: the commune’s own, from the school directory.
Neighbors
Pau and the towns around it
Colored by School Grade. Brevet and bac: pass rates across each town’s schools within 5 km.
Lons has the best-graded schools nearby (B+). Towns within 10 km of each other share some of the same schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
The brevet. The diplôme national du brevet, taken at 15 at the end of collège: written exams in French, maths, history-geography, sciences and an oral, with the year’s coursework. We use the share of candidates who pass.
•
The bac. The baccalauréat at 18: general and technological in most lycées, vocational in lycées professionnels. Each is compared only with schools of its own kind.
•
Value added. The ministry’s own measure (IVAC for collèges, IVAL for lycées): a school’s pass rate minus the rate expected from its pupils’ social background and age. It is half of each school’s score in the grade.
•
Social position index (IPS). A summary of pupils’ family backgrounds from parents’ occupations, about 100 for the average French pupil. Shown for context; never graded.
•
Within 5 km. French families don’t pick a school by the town’s name: a collège serves a catchment set by the département, a lycée one set by the académie. So the grade uses the schools within 5 km of where the town’s residents live, and neighboring towns can share them.
•
Primary schools. Not graded: national tests (évaluations nationales) aren’t published school by school. The commune’s primary schools are listed.
They grade B, better than those around 62% of compared French towns and #36 of 40 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2025, 91.0% of the 1,116 candidates at the 10 collèges within 5 km passed the brevet (as expected against the expected rate). At the lycées, 93.9% of 1,965 candidates passed the bac (as expected).
Which collège near Pau does best?
Against the expected rate, Collège privé La Salle - Saint-Joseph (private, 1.8 mi): 100% of 42 candidates passed the brevet in 2025, +9 pts against the rate its pupils’ backgrounds predict. On the raw pass rate alone the order can differ; value added is the fairer comparison.
Which lycée near Pau does best?
Against the expected rate, Lycée professionnel privé Montpensier (private, 0.9 mi): 98% of 124 candidates passed the vocational bac in 2025, +4 pts against the rate its pupils’ backgrounds predict.
How do children get a place at a collège near Pau?
A state collège takes the children of its catchment area (secteur), which the département council sets; families can ask the académie for an exception (dérogation). Lycée places go through the académie’s Affelnet assignment. Private schools under contract admit pupils themselves.
Are primary schools in Pau graded?
No: France doesn’t publish primary results school by school. Pau has 34 primary schools (écoles maternelles and élémentaires), listed above.
Sources: Ministry of Education (DEPP), value added of collèges (IVAC) and lycées (IVAL), 2025 session · DEPP, social position index (IPS) by school, 2024–25 · Ministry of Education, school directory (annuaire de l’éducation) · INSEE, Filosofi 200 m grid (the town’s point) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.
