During the year 2022-2023, Sarah, a 7-year-old Parisian, was educated in a multi-level CE1-CM2 class. However, it is not this specificity that we talk to him about the most. What everyone remembers is that Sarah belonged to the “Olympic class” from school A at 10, rue Lambert, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Wheelchair rugby match, meeting with judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou, visit to the Olympic museum in Lausanne (Switzerland)… She and her comrades have increased the number of outings and activities linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP) under the leadership of a mistress ” dynamic and passionate about sport »according to the words of Aurélien, Sarah’s father.
However, the little girl did not remember much from the Paris 2024 meeting – which she does not intend to follow – except that there will be “ lots of different sports ». His sporting practice has not increased either and the meeting with a tatami champion did not make him want to put on a kimono. But, it doesn’t matter that she hasn’t transformed into a mini-athlete, “it“was a great opportunity”, his father enthuses.
The Olympic class did not see the light of day in the run-up to the JOPs. Created in 2012 by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (Cnosf), the system aims to “develop the culture and values of Olympism among primary and secondary school students and make it a real learning support”details Véronique Moreira, vice-president of Cnosf in charge of education issues.
This year, 3,332 classes wore the Olympic colors and 82,000 students were involved. Although this figure is not spectacular, when we consider that France has 12 million students, from kindergarten to high school, it is clearly increasing. In 2022-2023, there were 1,054 so-called Olympic classes for 24,627 students concerned. The attraction effect of Paris 2024 is undeniable.
“We are not talking about the notion of competition”
In the Louis Aragon nursery school in Hermes, a small town in Oise, all sections are Olympic this year. Between the hikes with stories, the activities with the local gymnastics club, or the visit of athletes and para-athletes in the classes, the toddlers had a thousand opportunities to hear about sport in general and the JOP in particular.
“Beyond the meeting this summer and the start of the school year, it is about showing them the importance of physical activity and transmitting a message of encouragement to surpass oneself”, underlines Cyril Plé, doubly interested in the subject since he is director of the school and vice-president of the Hauts-de-France Olympic and sports committee.
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