Wednesday January 15, 2025 was a day particularly awaited, or feared, by high school students, since it marked the opening of registrations on Parcoursup. In Indre, 1,543 final year students, all sectors combined, have until Thursday March 13 to express their wishes on the platform, which lists more than 24,000 training courses. “Senior year is a very fast year”recognizes Olivier Renard, SVT teacher, and head teacher of a final year class at the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie high school in Châteauroux. “There are a lot of deadlines. But you have to take the time to think carefully about the direction”he insists.
Coming from Châteauroux, you can access prestigious training
With his students, Olivier Renard started talking about Parcoursup “from the first day of school”. Since then, he has already seen them individually to discuss professional plans and career wishes. Friday January 10, he received the parents of students before the opening of the platform. While concerns vary on a case-by-case basis, “what they are afraid of is having a child who has no solution”summarizes Olivier Renard. To protect yourself from this, the professor advises “always make at least one non-quota wish”.
Formulate a “wish of help”in non-selective training, while “trying to stay in an area that pleases the student”helps reduce the risk of blockage, according to the teacher. The first results are scheduled for Monday June 2, ahead of the written baccalaureate exams. “It’s easier to plan ahead and stay motivated when you have at least one “yes””he emphasizes.
From Monday January 20, he will meet his students in the computer room, “to help them formulate their wishes, and compile their files”. Although he will accompany them until the last moment, Olivier Renard underlines the importance “to empower students”. Going to training open days, meeting professors and students, calling to get information, so many things that can show the candidate's involvement.
-Show that there is not only Indre
Faced with the question of self-censorship among some of his students, Olivier Renard tries to fight against the phrase “I don’t have the level, it’s no use”which he heard so often. “You always have to try”insists the professor. “When it works, when we see that coming from a Châteauroux high school we can access prestigious training, it’s super rewarding”he says.
In 2023, the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie high school launched a project to “show students that there is more than Indre”by organizing immersion days in major schools, or in preparatory classes, in Paris. “Since then, the proportion of our students accepted into this type of prestigious training has doubled, from 5 to 10%”he specifies.
In parallel, “we managed to create a network of around a hundred former students who came, for two days, to meet and discuss with high school students ». An opportunity to talk about their journeys, and to reassure the students. « Csome have redirected themselves several times, bridges exist”recalls Olivier Renard, “we can catch up”. For those who are late in receiving an assignment, “you have to stay reachable for a long time”since the results of the baccalaureate, and the choices of other students can cause waiting lists to evolve until the summer.
