Offering specially adapted schooling

What innovations are possible in young athletes’ dual projects? Some ideas from Philippe Coléon, Director General of Acadomia

What innovations is Acadomia introducing to education?

PC: To mark its 20^th anniversary, Acadomia created an “Innovation” department to respond to the needs of Generation Z. This generation differs radically from previous generations: millennials live in a totally connected world that is moving very quickly: 65% of children entering school now will be doing jobs that do not yet exist. This is a fast generation: they decide in only 8 seconds if a subject is interesting or not! Another interesting statistic: only 7% of young people list school as one of the channels at their disposition for learning….

All this should raise questions: the world is changing, but school is not. But we can no longer educate children in the same way today as yesterday.

That is why we are innovating: we are creating new patterns of learning, like our Co-Learning centres where our pupils are coached, guided and equipped so that they can better understand and develop their expertise and life-skills. Our ambition is to prepare them better and better for tomorrow’s world.

Young athletes in training are a special case. What can Acadomia do for them?

PC: We do not think that young people should have to make a choice between their passion and their education. They should be able to enjoy both. Particularly when only 5% of young athletes go on to become professionals. It is therefore up to us to offer specially adapted schooling. We believe that the key to success is personalised schooling. That is what we are doing in Nice, Paris and Toulouse. We do everything we can to ensure that our pupils feel comfortable: individual monitoring, support workshops, online lessons and resources and a tailor-made timetable. We do even more: with AJ Auxerre we provide a school for players within the club training centre. The result is that the young players live, work and train on the spot. They have the advantage of the best possible physical and mental conditions for fulfilment and success. We are also very pleased to be helping the juniors in the French handball team, thanks to their federation, which has always given a central place to educational success. A few days ago, we signed a partnership with the Tony Parker Adéquat Academy: within this innovative scheme we will be opening a school with an ambitious teaching project from 2019.

Broadly speaking, how can you ensure that the dual project leads to dual success?

PC: In the light of our experience and the many successes we are capable of together, we are convinced that there is an urgent need to develop the dual project wherever it is possible. 2024 on the horizon makes this essential: for the success of the country, but also for the young people who are being prepared for these Olympics to succeed in their schooling and their profession.

There are already solutions: one of these is the possibility of encouraging clubs to develop their own schooling by dedicating part of the apprenticeship tax to this use. We hope that a lot of ideas will emerge during the coming months. The future “Sport and Society” Law will be the opportunity to modernise structures in this country so that future champions receive more support in following a dual project, in education and sport, and in achieving dual success.