Nearly two thousand students in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna began sitting their baccalaureat high school leaving examinations today.
A pass in these national French examinations is a compulsory prerequisite for students wanting to continue on with tertiary studies.
Although New Caledonia has a small university and various vocational training courses are available, after their Baccalaureat exams many young people leave the territory for universities in France.
The exams continue for two weeks.
