Guest Q&A | Education Feature: Brought to Greatful Moments by Isoset
Greatful Moments recently received an opportunity to learn more about the remarkable educational journey of a nine-year-old girl who earned her French baccalauréat in 2025.
The story was brought to us by Isoset, the organization behind the Aleph educational method. We were invited to ask questions about the student’s achievement, her educational preparation, what comes next for her, and what Isoset hopes families will understand about its approach.
Because the child’s name has not been publicly released in order to protect her privacy, Greatful Moments will not identify or photograph her.
Here are the questions we asked and the information provided to us.
How old was the student, and what led her to take the exam so young?
The girl was born in October 2015. She obtained her general baccalaureate in July 2025, at the age of 9. She was a free candidate and sat the exams in Paris.
French media also reported on the achievement, identifying her as the youngest known person to obtain the French baccalauréat.
What type of baccalaureate did she obtain, and what were her results?
She obtained the general baccalauréat, with mathematics and physics-chemistry.
According to the information provided to Greatful Moments, she received the diploma through the resit session, without honours. She earned 20/20 in the oral examination and 18 in EMC (moral and civic education).
The achievement is particularly unusual because French students generally take the baccalauréat much later in their education.
What was her educational journey and how did she prepare?
Behind this exceptional achievement lies a method called Aleph, developed by the organization Isoset in collaboration with Hugo Sbai.
The founding idea came from Sbai’s own family. The principle, according to Isoset, is that a child can understand concepts commonly considered appropriate for older students when those concepts are explained using language and examples appropriate to the child’s level.
One example offered is teaching a young child about negative numbers by talking about winter temperatures.
Isoset says the method grew from work with Hugo Sbai, who is now 26 years old. According to the information provided, Sbai is a graduate of the École polytechnique and has a law background, and he earned his own baccalauréat at age 12 in 2012.
He now serves as an ambassador for the Aleph method.
What do we know about her plans for the future?
The nine-year-old baccalauréat holder has decided to continue her education.
According to the information provided to Greatful Moments, she plans to pursue law at a French university as well as computer science through a foreign institution.
French reporting has also described her as continuing her education after the baccalauréat rather than stopping after achieving the diploma.
What would Isoset most like people to understand about this educational approach?
Isoset emphasizes that the children it accompanies are not forced to follow this accelerated path.
The organization says these students continue to play and participate in activities like other children their age and that the approach is intended to respect each child’s pace.
According to Isoset, the method is not intended to replace the current education system or eliminate subjects. Instead, it is presented as an approach based on individualized support and adapting learning to the child.
Those claims represent Isoset’s description of its own educational approach. The existence of one exceptional academic achievement does not establish that the method would produce similar results for other children.
What Does This Story Mean for Parents?
A nine-year-old earning a national secondary-school diploma naturally raises questions about how children learn and how educational systems respond to students who are far ahead academically.
It also raises an important reminder for parents: one child’s educational path does not have to become another child’s path.
Some children may need additional challenge. Others may need additional support, more time, or a different way of approaching a subject. What works for one child may not work for another.
The more useful question may be how parents and educators can recognize what a particular child needs while continuing to consider the child’s development as a whole.
Academic achievement is one part of a child’s story. Curiosity, confidence, friendships, independence, play and a sense of belonging matter as well.
Why We Are Sharing This Story
At Greatful Moments, we believe families benefit from hearing about different approaches to education and learning.
This young student’s achievement is certainly unusual, but her story also gives parents something to consider: Are we giving children opportunities to learn at the level that challenges them while still allowing them to develop at their own pace?
There is no single educational path that works for every child.
For families considering traditional schooling, homeschooling, acceleration or other educational options, the conversation begins with understanding the individual child.
About the Source
This Q&A was brought to Greatful Moments by Isoset, which provided the information above about the student, the Aleph method and Hugo Sbai.
The child’s identity has not been publicly released, and Greatful Moments respects the family’s privacy.
For additional information about Isoset and the Aleph method, readers can visit Isoset’s website.
Greatful Moments presents Isoset’s statements about the Aleph method as information supplied by the organization. Additional details about the student’s achievement were checked against available French media reporting. We do not present this single case as proof that the Aleph method will produce the same results for other children.
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Grateful, Thankful, Blesssed.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
