Back to School: Maintaining Excellency for Monaco’s Students
It’s now time for the 5,878 pupils of the Principality to hear school bells ring, find their desks and enjoy their recesses in the school yards. Pools, beaches, sunshine, friends, trips… were all wonderful, but, on Monday, summer holidays came to a close. Going back to school after the holidays can be difficult, but Monaco has a solution. This year, more than ever, the government is focusing on students’ development. A tactic that owes nothing to chance since, according to Isabelle Bonnal, development promotes excellence.
In order not to leave anyone behind on the road to excellence, a primary adaptation class will begin at the Saint-Charles school. A little sister project to the one that already exists at Charles-III, it will allow pupils who encounter severe learning difficulties to be taken care of as closely as possible.
As the ultimate objective is to maintain excellence in the Principality’s establishments. There is no question of denying how successful the education system already is, with 98.57% success rate for bachelor degrees in all subjects and with 75% of students obtaining honorable mentions, with “very good” on about one diploma out of five (results 2017).
Still in the same spirit, the Charles-III College will host an adaptation and integration class for students with significant cognitive impairments. Their timetable will be adapted to their needs and include therapeutic programs (speech therapy, psychomotor therapy, etc…) but above all they will be able to be integrated into the traditional classroom setting from time to time, or into other adaptation classes, incorporating the students when it could promote socialization and integration.
Another area of excellence in the Principality is sport. This year, 153 students will benefit from intensive sports practice, which is more than eight hours per week. And, to go one step further, 26 high school students will benefit from the “sport elite” program. Specifically, their class schedules will be concentrated between 10 am and 4 pm to allow them to practice a minimum of 20 hours of sports per week. And methods are in place so that doping does not occur. Because especially during adolescence, one may in search of enhancing substances, which are sometimes addictive or even illicit. The national education department is continuing its efforts to prevent addiction, with the help of the psychiatry department at the Princesse Grace hospital.
The Condamine school is experimenting with a new dress code based on a white polo and navy blue sweatshirt, both decorated with a coat of arms with the name of the school and the words “Principatu of Munegu”. Recently, parents complained about the quality of the garment obtained by the government. But up until then, there was only positive feedback, said Isabelle Bonnal, director of national education, youth and sports. The concept of a dress code is definitely positive. On the other hand, the quality and the cut of the garment is also important. As for the white color, also challenged by anxious parents, Isabelle Bonnal justifies, that the red and the navy blue were refused by parents because it fades. There is not a problem with white.
