the khâgne can immediately enter the third and last year of the French bachelor's programme in a chosen subject. After having repeated the khâgne, the student may be granted a partial or a total bachelor's diploma equivalence. In the case of a student who has passed the written exam but failed the oral part, there is the possibility of studying any subject they have done in the written exam at post-graduate level. In addition to grandes écoles and IEPs, khâgne students can also enroll in selective university programmes, such as magistères. History Until 1890, secondary school graduates prepared for the entrance examination to the ENS by repeating their classe de rhétorique which corresponds to the final year of secondary education. Teachers would give them more difficult assignments than to high school juniors. Lycée Louis-le-Grand created a special class in order to gather those "veterans": the Première supérieure class, also called rhétorique supérieure, or rhétosup. Lycée Henri-IV then introduced the Lettres supérieures (or Lettres sup) year between the final year and the Première supérieure year. Regarded as a two-year extension of high school studies, Lettres supérieures and Première supérieure was meant to prepare students to the ENS. This system became standard by the 1930s. As the coursework is intensive, with around 35 hours of classwork per week and a good deal of work on top of that, it can be very stressful for students. The examinations are difficult and competitive and it is common for students either to repeat the second year of classes (in slang cuber) or to fail altogether, in which case they usually obtain a Licence or other qualification. The grading system (0 to 20) reflects the general philosophy of the khâgnes: underscoring the failings of the students rather than their strengths. Consequently, most grades hover between 4 and 11, the latter grade being an excellent grade. This grading system is quite demotivating for students but is part and parcel of the intellectual "boot camp" mentality of the classes prépas educational system. The classes involve elements of literature (modern and classical), history, philosophy, geography, languages and linguistics-–-a comprehensive humanities-based education-–-but students will normally specialise in one or two subjects. Critics claim that a disproportionate amount of resources is devoted to khâgne students as against the c. 40% of Baccalauréat students who attend a standard university. They therefore see it as a feature of the elitism of the French