Written by: Beatrix Bucsi

I have participated in a Job Shadowing program in „Eduard Branly High School” in Châtellerault, France. I spent 5 days in the school observing their different classes.

Châtellerault is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It has about 30,000 inhabitants and two important high schools which provide a wide range of specializations for local and surrounding children.

This high school counts more than 1000 student, around 110 teachers and 80 administrative and technical staff. The general high school education is 3 years on France. Here, after the first year, it is possible to complete the common core with several options, for example: Section Euro in English, Engineering sciences, Creation and Technological Innovation, Management and Administration, Physical Education and Sports.

After the matriculation exam, students can stay at school for another 2 years and learn a profession: the Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS) is a 2-year French national post- secondary diploma. In this school students have the possibility to choose for example the BTS of real estate profession, electrical engineering or design and industrialization in microtechnology.

During the week I spent there, I had the opportunity to observe the classes in these different education forms, how the teachers teach, what methods they use, etc. It was not just observation, but I also talked a lot with the teachers and the students, so I could compare it with our system.

On my first day, Ms. Christelle Panier – Erasmus Coordinator and Mathematics teacher of the school – came to pick me up in the hotel. In the morning she showed me the different buildings of the school and introduced me to the teachers whose classes I observed throughout the week.

Teachers use an online platform to upload the material and the exercises. Students have access to it and they can work with these files from home.

Classes are not split at all which means that there are often 30-32 students in the (language) classes, moreover these students are often at different language levels.

They have less language lessons than in the Hungarian system: as first language they have English which is taught 3 hours a week. They can choose German, Spanish or Italian as a second foreign language. Most of the students choose Spanish which they study 2 hours a week, as well as the other foreign languages.

I have seen several oral presentations by the students. For example: 1/ they had to present their “heros” during the German lesson. For this exercise, they had prepared a ppt file that they used for the presentation. It was a really complex and interesting task because on one hand they could choose a topic which is close to them but on the other hand they had to use the structures and vocabulary they had learnt before. The teacher asked the other students questions after each presentation. 2/ to prepare the graduation exam in English, students had to debate predetermined topics in groups of 2 or 3. They had prepared at home because the topics were difficult and it was not just a presentation but a real debate with well prepared arguments. I really liked these oral sessions during the language classes, I decided to apply these kinds of exercises more during my language classes as well.

I also noticed that they use a lot of group work: not only in language classes, but also in history, geography and other science classes.

Other experience:

Ms. Christelle Panier spent a lot of time with me in and out of school. When I was not with her, the other teachers were also very nice and always answered my questions in detail. Every day we had lunch together in the school canteen, and then continued the conversation in the teacher’s room.

In France there are no classes in Wednesday afternoons. Christelle arranged a meeting for us with Mr. Berthet, Head of International Relations at the municipality. He showed us around the town hall building, then we had lunch together, during which I could learn more about the city, its international relations and plans for the future. We also talked about the possibility of what the municipality could offer if we could go there with a group of 10-15 students from Avicenna in the future.

In the afternoon, the physics teacher accompanied me to visit the main sights of the city: the old centre with its pedestrian street and smaller local shops and coffees, the church, some monuments such as the Henri IV bridge and the other bridge across the river, the Pont Camille-de-Hogues, which was the first bridge in France to be built using reinforced concrete. We also visited “Le Grand Atelier”. This art and industry museum offers 3 exhibitions: Auto Museum, an exhibition of more than 200 old vehicles and objects; The Manufacture d’Armes – a French state-owned weapons manufacturer until 1968 – where we can discover the industrial and social history of Châtellerault and Le Black Cat Cabaret, a space dedicated to the famous Parisian cabaret of the Chat noir, created by Rodolphe Salis from this town.

I could also listen a conservatory performance by children from the local music school which was arranged by Christelle. She even invited me to a family dinner, where we could talk more informally as well and this time spent together enriched my knowledge of the school, the education, the city and the French culture.

I am very grateful to both my sending and receiving schools for this unforgettable week full of experiences.

Written by: Beatrix Bucsi
Avicenna International College, Budapest

20. Oct. 2024