Do other countries have a oral exam system similar to French “colles”?

Question

The French classes prépas system includes, during the first two years of undergraduate (post-baccalaureate) education, a series of regular oral exams, known as colles. Basically: every week during your first two years, you have two oral exams, each lasting one hour, with one teacher examining two or three students, each using a blackboard. A science student would typically have math and chemistry on week A, then physics and another topic (engineering, foreign language, …) on week B. This system prepares students for national competitive exams after their second year, which includes both written and oral components.

Now, whenever I have to explain that system to a foreign colleague, I have to do it from the start (as above) because I do not know any other similar system they might know (especially, I don't know of any equivalent or similar system in the US). Is there one?

Answer 1

The correct answer to this question is either yes or no. To answer yes one would simply need to provide a single example of another country with an oral exam system similar to the French system. To answer no we would need confirmation that no other country uses a similar system. To start the alphabetical list:

• United Kingdom: Undergraduate students at the top universities tend to begin their studies immediately following their A-Level examinations which do not have a substantial oral component.
• United States of America: Undergraduate students at the top universities tend to begin their studies immediately following their high school/secondary education. Admission is based upon performance throughout high school and standardize test neither of which have a substantial oral component.