Core French is the compulsory French Second Language program for all students in grades 4 to 9 who are not enrolled in an optional French second language program, such as French Immersion or Integrated French. Regional Centres for Education in Nova Scotia must offer Core French classes from grades 4 to 12.

To maximize students’ acquisition of language skills, Core French is learned and taught using the Neurolinguistic Approach in regularly scheduled instructional periods, as per the updated Time to Learn document (April 2016).

Intensive French is offered in several schools at the grade 6 level across Nova Scotia. This is an alternative way of offering Core French that involves concentrated learning time spent in French for 5 months of the school year.