The objective of the Culture and Diversity Foundation is to prepare high school students socially and geographically distant from culture for some of the most selective competitions in major artistic and cultural schools, such as Beaux-Arts, schools of architecture or even fashion. 170 high school students were able to participate in intensive courses for equal opportunities.
Standing or sitting, most often in groups, they draw, measure, cut, assemble… Romain stands out with his bright red tie. He showed tenacity in his journey. “I graduated from a SEGPA, I was not able to directly join the professional baccalaureate in architecture and therefore I had to go through a CAP wood carpenter, explains the young man who was having academic difficulties. It’s really lucky for me to have been accepted here. »
Here he is on an equal opportunities internship at the prestigious National School of Architecture in Paris, which reassures him. « I had a little bit of a lack of confidence, would I be able to simply follow the courses… he confides. I saw that the schedules, nevertheless, are busier, the courses more extensive than in high school, but the subjects are really interesting and therefore it allows me to have a certain preparation to apply to an architecture school later. »
Helping these high school students with their writing is also part of the objectives of these courses. HAS” These are students who are often less accustomed to reading, who have less self-confidence, in literary subjects, in their ability to write and the ability to formulate, when in fact, they have quite the intellectual abilities, explains Camille Bidaud, lecturer in architectural history. There is no problem there, but they tend to feel less legitimate. »
Concrete learning
These students most often come from career training courses, indicates Laurence Veillet, architect and teacher at ENSA Paris-Val de Seine. “Ils vhave precisely to take refuge in this expertise that they have, she continues. Their strength is indeed this expertise, their difficulty will be to take a step back and agree to take a step aside to be in the development of the project and not in the business side of architecture. »
This side step, Inès seems to have understood: “That’s what I love about architecture. We think something in our head and then we project an idea into a real object“And what Antoine appreciates about the internship is the practical experience: “I learn in the field, whether it is making models or on everything that is visited, describes Antoine with relish. We did a site visit, then the steps to follow to enter an archi school, how to apply, how to prepare for the interview and then for our future. »
Listen in Reportage FranceSecond chance schools, more than twenty years of support
« Seeing them allow themselves to open a door, that’s what marvels me »
The great idea of the course is to bring together 30 young people from all over the France. A chance according to Inès and Mélanie: “We share a lot of things as you can see. So we do group projects. Seeing everyone’s ideas allows you to have a much broader, much more thoughtful overview.. »
« As a teacher, I love seeing my students reveal themselves and flourish, shares Laurence Veillet. Here, with these high school students who also come from all over France, from sectors that are not always very well considered, seeing them open a window, allowing themselves to open a door, that’s what amazes me. »
Allowing these young people to pursue the profession they have chosen is the entire ambition of the Culture and Diversity Foundation when we know that 65% of the students of the Grandes Écoles come from very privileged backgrounds.
Also read“Heritocracy, the great schools and the misadventures of merit (1870-2020)” by Paul Pasquali
