The mobility project for the MRC and ASSP sections has a double ambition: to allow the students to strengthen their English skills, which gives them a significant advantage in a competitive job market, but also to allow them to discover a different way of life, which is a first opening towards a real European culture and allows them to become more autonomous. By opening up to the international scene, these mobilities help to enhance the value of vocational education, which is often perceived as a default option. Our students prepare a vocational baccalaureate for direct arrival into the working world or for further studies, often in BTS (senior technologist’s certificate, a national diploma of higher education earned in two years, after graduating with a Baccalauréat). Whatever their choice, fluency in a foreign language is essential to evolve efficiently in the professional world. Our project also has several objectives to lead the students towards European citizenship: to practice a language in its authentic context, in everyday life but also in professional exchanges, to gain autonomy, to learn to adapt to environments where they are unfamiliar with the codes and to appreciate the diversity of different cultures.
With the desire to increase the level of qualification of young people in addition to their initial training, and after an analysis of the situation and needs of the school, our high school has been committed for several years to a reflection on the main issues developed in the school project: to accompany the pupils towards success and citizenship, to develop the attractiveness and reinforce the positive image of the school, and to improve working conditions. Our school currently offers 3 European sections in English: 2 in the vocational school (MRC Customer Relations and ASSP Support, Care and Services to the Individuals) and one in the general school. The European vocational sections are based on the following axes: helping learners to acquire skills to optimise their personal development and their employability on the European labour market, significantly developing their foreign language skills, raising their awareness of other cultures and orienting them towards a sense of European citizenship and identity, and finally ensuring better recognition of the skills acquired during learning periods abroad.