Preparing for the BEPC: a year-long method, past papers and revising together

Information checked on 2 November 2026.

Preparing for the BEPC means, first of all, preparing early. The Brevet d'études du premier cycle closes lower secondary school at the end of Troisième (year 9), and it decides whether you move up to Seconde. It covers the whole lower secondary syllabus, not just the last year, so last-minute revision is not enough. Here is what the exam is in each country, a plan from September to June, the right way to use past papers, and how to revise with others without wasting time.

The BEPC and its equivalents by country

The name changes, the stakes stay the same: completing lower secondary school.

Two lessons from these figures. In Benin, one candidate in three who sat the exam in 2026 did not reach the next stage: the BEPC is not a formality. And in several countries the exam does not stop at the written papers: orals, PE or optional papers count too. At the start of the year, ask your school for the exact list of papers, their coefficients and their length: that is your roadmap.

For 2027, in Cameroon, the order setting the 2026-2027 school year places official secondary exams between 19 April and 30 July 2027; exact dates will be published later. In other countries, wait for the ministry's official calendar and be wary of "deduced" dates circulating on social media.

What the BEPC really tests

The BEPC does not ask you to know everything by heart. It checks that you master the basics you will need in upper secondary:

• in French, understanding a text, writing clearly, mastering grammar and spelling;
• in maths, calculating without errors, solving an equation, reasoning in geometry, reading a graph;
• in science, explaining a phenomenon with the right vocabulary and using a document;
• in history-geography and civics, locating, dating, arguing;
• in languages, reading and writing simple, correct sentences.

Points are often lost on "easy" questions handled badly: a forgotten unit, a sentence without a verb, a misread instruction. That is the good news: those points can be won back with method.

A revision plan from September to June

An example based on Cameroon's 2026-2027 school year (start on 7 September 2026, holidays from 18 December to 4 January and from 25 March to 12 April 2027). Adapt the dates to your country.

Three rules to make the plan stick:

Past papers: your best weapon

A past paper shows you the expected format, length and level. Use it as on the day: timer set to the official length, empty desk, real answer sheet. Then mark it with the answer key or your teacher, and write every mistake in a log (date, subject, mistake, cause, what you will do next time). Reread the log every week. The full method is in our article on revising with past papers: it works for the BEPC as well as the bac.

Where to find papers:

• at your school: papers from tests and mock exams, which teachers often keep;
• in the Compatri exam archive (in French): papers shared by pupils, checked before publication, never published before the day after the exam, with no pupil's name. It is still small: each paper shared helps a Troisième pupil in another city;
• from older pupils: a brother, cousin or neighbour who sat the BEPC last year may have kept their papers.

To share a paper, you must be 16 or older. If you are younger, ask a parent or an older relative to do it for you, once the exam is over, from the upload page (in French). The rules are explained in our article on sharing an exam paper.

Revising together without wasting time

Group revision works when everyone arrives having already worked alone. The group is then for explaining, correcting and motivating, not for discovering the lesson together.

• Set one goal per session: "linear functions", not "maths".
• Take turns explaining: whoever explains remembers twice as well.
• Mark each other's answers with the mark scheme: you learn what the examiner expects.
• Stop at the planned time. A session that drags on becomes a chat.

On Compatri, you can join your class group, one group per class and per city ("Troisième, Kétou"). You ask a question about an exercise, others answer, and whoever asked marks the best answer. You also meet Troisième pupils from other cities, who sit the same exam. To start a small study group, read our guide to creating a revision group, and to get help faster, the one on asking a good question about an exercise.

Exam day

• Get your notice of entry, your ID if required and your permitted equipment ready the night before.
• Arrive early: being late costs you calm, sometimes the paper.
• Read the whole paper before writing, start with the exercise you can do, keep ten minutes to check.
• Leave your phone outside the room. In Côte d'Ivoire, the DECO publishes every year the decisions of its national disciplinary commission on candidates sanctioned for cheating, and a sanctioned candidate must obtain a certificate lifting the sanction before sitting the next session. A "paper" circulating the night before is never help: it is a scam or fraud.

After the BEPC: thinking about Seconde already

The BEPC prepares an important decision: your stream in upper secondary. In Cameroon, for example, the science stream in Seconde is C; D, more focused on life sciences, only starts in Première. Your Troisième report therefore counts for your guidance. Our article bac C or bac D, which stream to choose helps you decide, and the one for families, supporting your child through the bac and departure, gives your parents pointers.

Compatri runs no exam and does not replace your school: only the texts and announcements of your ministry are binding.

Official sources

• MINESEC (Cameroon): decision setting the 2026 exam calendar
• MINEDUB and MINESEC (Cameroon): joint order of 14 August 2026 on the 2026-2027 school calendar
• Government of Benin: 2026 BEPC deliberation
• Direction des examens et concours (Côte d'Ivoire): home page, registration and disciplinary commission
• Senegalese press agency: BFEM 2026, second round starts on Tuesday