The CESS marks the end of secondary school in French-speaking Belgium and opens the door to higher education. In the final year (6th year), it involves two common external exams: French and history. Here is how they work, what changes in 2027 and how to prepare effectively.
What is the CESS?
The CESS (certificat d’enseignement secondaire supérieur) is the upper secondary school leaving certificate of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the French-speaking education system in Belgium. Among other things, it gives access to higher education.
There are two quite different ways to obtain it:
- at school, by passing your final year, including the common external CESS exams in French and history;
- before the board of examiners of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (often called the “jury central”), when you prepare for the certificate outside school.
This article focuses on the first route. The second one is explained further down.
Who sits the external CESS exams?
The exams are the same, on the same day, for all the students concerned. Which ones you sit depends on your track:
- transition education (6th year of general, technical or artistic transition education): French exam and history exam;
- qualification education (6th year of technical or artistic qualification education, 7th year of vocational education): French exam only.
Passing an external exam means you have mastered the skill assessed in that subject. If you fail, or are absent for a valid reason, the class council still decides whether to award the CESS, based on your whole year.
The CESS in French: what is assessed
The French exam does not cover the whole year’s syllabus. It assesses a single skill, announced in advance, and that skill changes from one session to the next:
- in June 2026, the exam focused on synthesis: summarising a set of documents on the same topic (UAA 2), in 200 minutes, with dictionaries and grammar books allowed;
- in June 2027, it will focus on the argued opinion: reacting and taking a position in writing (UAA 3).
Always check with your teacher which skill has been announced for your year: that is the one to work on first.
Writing a good synthesis of documents
The CESS French synthesis asks you to bring together the ideas from several documents in a personal, clear and well organised text. What makes the difference:
- read every document and note, for each one, the main idea and the arguments;
- group the ideas by theme, rather than document by document;
- rephrase in your own words, without copying whole sentences;
- stay neutral: a synthesis reports the authors’ ideas, without giving your opinion;
- keep time to check spelling and linking words.
Preparing the argued opinion
Here it is the other way round: your own position is expected. It must be clear from the introduction, then supported by arguments backed with specific examples. Practise building an outline in a few minutes, varying your arguments and taking an opposing view into account.
The CESS in history: what is assessed
The history exam is for students in transition education. As in French, it assesses a single skill of the course, based on a portfolio of documents:
- in June 2026, source criticism, on the theme of space exploration in the second half of the 20th century, in 100 minutes;
- in June 2027, synthesis, based on a research question set in the 1970s.
To prepare, practise identifying the author, date and purpose of each document. Learn to compare sources that contradict each other, then to write a structured answer to the question asked. Reviewing the background of the announced period really helps you understand the documents.
CESS 2027: dates and pass mark
According to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation circular published at the end of August 2026, the CESS 2027 exams will take place on:
- Friday 18 June 2027 for history (transition);
- Monday 21 June 2027 for French (transition and qualification).
Another important change: from June 2027, you need at least 60% in each certifying external exam to pass it, compared with 50% before. One more reason to start practising early in the year.
Practising with past exam papers
Past CESS exam papers, in French as well as in history, are published by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation together with their marking guides. They are the best practice there is: you discover the real format, the length of the documents and what the markers expect.
To get the most out of them:
- choose papers that assess the same skill as your session;
- do them in real time, without interruption, with the permitted materials;
- then mark your own work with the answer key and the grid, criterion by criterion;
- write down your most frequent mistakes and work on them in the next paper.
Two or three complete papers, carefully marked, are worth more than ten skimmed through. To organise your revision, our 5 tips to study and pass your exams can help.
Taking the CESS before the Wallonia-Brussels Federation board of examiners
The board of examiners of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation lets you obtain the CESS outside school: after dropping out, after home schooling or when returning to education. You must be at least 16 or hold the CE2D (second-stage certificate).
Here, it is no longer about two external exams, but about exams on the syllabus of the 3rd stage (5th and 6th years). For the general CESS, this means:
- five compulsory subjects: French, mathematics, sciences, a modern language (Dutch, English or German) and history and geography;
- one optional subject: economics, social sciences, a second modern language or Latin.
The board holds two exam cycles a year. It does not teach: candidates prepare on their own, at a private school or with support. Steady preparation, subject by subject, is essential.
Parents: how to help your child
At the end of secondary school, your child is becoming more independent, but still needs structure. You can help them plan their practice sessions, protect quiet study time and keep a healthy sleep pattern during the revision period.
If a subject has been a struggle for a long time, it is better to act at the start of the year than in the final weeks.
Getting support for the CESS
At My Sherpa, an educational adviser chooses the coach who matches your needs. In private French lessons, at home anywhere in Belgium or online, your coach trains you on synthesis or argumentation with real exam papers and corrects your work in detail.
They can also help you build a solid study method for the June exams and prepare the move to higher education.
