17:20 Nov 28, 2011 

I just meant that since they have put a ceiling on them, they may have also on the ARS. Anyway, the question here is not plafond (plafond is a limit, any which way you look at it), but simple in this context.

16:34 Nov 28, 2011 

I agree with Philippa, this is NOT a scholarship. That is quite different. There are regional and national scholarships depending on means and a whole host of other variables.

Philippa, the question relates to ARS which IS means tested, in other words depends on income. The amount of the ARS is fixed, but entitlement is means tested.

As for the collège/lycée thing, it's rather a question of age attained during the school year. If your child is of school-leaving age (16) on or before 31st December of the year concerned, you have to obtain a "certificat de scolarité" to confirm that he/she is still actively attending school. (It is quite conceivable that a collégien be entitled to the ARS and after having repeated a year or two, and be required to produce the 'certificat de scolarité" in order to obtain the ARS). This is systematically required for lycéens, unless they have skipped a class, in which case they are still within the age limit and assumed to be attending school).

http://www.service-public.fr/actualites/00610.html

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1878.xhtml

16:25 Nov 28, 2011 

It appears to be part of a sentence as there is no verb. Is it possible to have the sentence before and after this extract?

14:27 Nov 28, 2011 

I don't know the ins and outs of aid for lycée students (I've only got collégiens!), but the allocation de rentrée scolaire is not a scholarship, it's a simple fixed allowance that applies to everyone, which I don't suppose even this government would put a ceiling on...Quoique...!

13:24 Nov 28, 2011 

It may actually refer to "ceiling", since the French government has indeed placed a ceiling on scholarships and the "prise en charge" of lycée students .

12:39 Nov 28, 2011 

I've already given tne complete sentence except for personal details.

12:18 Nov 28, 2011 

Philippa's interpretation is right for the 'allocation de rentrée scolaire' (ARS).

The precise wording of the expression in the question would be easier to pinpoint if we had the full sentence. Any chance of the complete sentence?

11:02 Nov 28, 2011 

income threshold sounds about right to me, if Philippa's interpretation is right (which I think it is)

10:59 Nov 28, 2011 

I assume this is what it's referring to: it's an allowance you get for your schoolkids at the "rentrée" (in September when school starts again) when your income is not very high.

"ALLOCATION DE RENTRÉE SCOLAIRE
Vous avez au moins un enfant âgé de 6 à 18 ans.
Cet enfant est à votre charge, vos ressources ne dépassent pas certaines limites.
Vous avez peut-être droit à l'Allocation de Rentrée Scolaire."
http://www.caf.fr/cataloguears/bas.htm

I think the "à raison du simple plafond" is a slightly contorted way of saying that the allowance is simply linked to your income level, you could maybe just say "income-related allowance" and not worry about the "plafond" element...If you do want to include it, I'd use "(income) threshold".

10:45 Nov 28, 2011 

More context:
A compter du 1er septembre 2010 et jusqu'au 31 août 2011, l'intéressée a droit au bénéfice de:
l'allocation scolaire à raison du simple plafond en faveur de sa fille

10:15 Nov 28, 2011 

Could you provide the rest of the sentence/surrounding sentences?