Building awareness
Two types of action are used by Maisons des Jeunes Talents to tackle the lack of information and self-exclusion from preparatory classes amongst pupils from less-advantaged backgrounds.
Awareness building in high schools
Each year, former students of the Maisons des Jeunes Talents program visit high schools in priority neighbourhoods and rural areas to share their personal histories and demonstrate that “Preparatory classes are an option!”, irrespective of one’s financial or family situation or social background.
To request a visit to your high school, please contact Anne-Laure Jacopy
Preparatory Classes Discovery Day
Two taster days for preparatory classes are held in Paris every February, with the support of Sopra Steria, for students receiving financial aid.
Registration for the 2021 events are not yet open. If you would like to be informed of the opening of registrations please contact Anne-Laure Jacopy.
Preparing
In order to reduce gap for pupils from less-advantaged backgrounds from the final year of high school to preparatory classes, a partnership has been developed since 2016 with ESSEC and Centrale Supelec, to run an intensive pre-preparatory class training week.
Lodging &
Support
As the main disincentive to attending preparatory classes in Paris is the cost of housing, Maisons des Jeunes Talents offers students receiving financial aid free accommodation close to the educational establishments.
Within the housing element of the program, individualised academic, personal and professional support is provided to equip the students with all the tools needed to make a success of their classes.
Free housing at four sites in Paris
In 2020, the housing and support element of Maisons des Jeunes Talents’ program welcomed 51 Students in 4 sites in Paris:
Maison Echiquier
Paris 8e
(16 female students)
Foyer Montparnasse
Paris 15e
(20 female students)
Institut Bossuet
Paris 6e
(8 male students)
Maison Malesherbes
Paris 8e
(7 male students)
Support
on three
levels
PERSONAL
At each house, students are supported by supervisors who live on site or visit on a weekly basis. Their role is to provide moral support to students over their intense two-year courses, make their daily lives easier and ensure that they live healthy lives that are properly adjusted to the demands of preparatory classes (work-leisure balance, sleep, food, etc.).
•
ACADEMIC
On the educational front, students benefit from support courses in subjects such as maths, physics, French, English, German and Spanish, provided by volunteer teachers. Educational progress is followed up, in cooperation with the high schools.
•
PREPARING FOR THE WORLD OF WORK
Each student has a mentor, drawn from one of the companies sponsoring the program, who helps them construct their professional project, introducing them to people working in sectors that are of interest and making their contacts available for future internship and employment searches.