From Friday, 03 October to Friday, 10 October 2008 Edition #160
British pupils help keep school’s numbers steady


#160 From 2008-10-03 to 2008-10-10
2 britsmakeupschoolclass.jpg
Educational events are still an important part of the collège’s life, which has as many pupils as before, but fewer staff
Reproduction interdite.
In common with many schools across the Charente and throughout France, the Petit-Mairat collège at Montembœuf in the Charente-Limousine is having to cope with fewer staff. Thanks to national cutbacks in teaching numbers, the collège now has just 18 teachers compared with 22 just a year ago. However the good news for the school is that pupil numbers have remained stable. And that is due in no small part to the number of British children who now attend it. Head teacher Pierre Salque says: ‘Here, some 14% of the pupils are of British origin.’ That translates to 21 pupils out of a total of 150, the equivalent to an entire class. It also explains why one of the staff, English teacher Michèle Garnier, is a specialist in teaching children for whom French is their second language - FLS or ‘français langue seconde’ as it is known. The stability of school numbers is a positive sign for the collège, at a time when numbers have been falling in many rural schools in the department. And despite the reduced staffing, the school is still determined to provide a number of school trips and events that it sees as an essential part of its teaching. These included a visit to Paris, where pupils from year 3 will visit the Louvre and Versailles.

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