At the Maurice-Clavel high school in Frontignan, a specialized class to “give dyslexic children a taste for school”

The twelve students of the 4th Succès are following a project around the shared garden of Frontignan, near the high school. Midi Libre – W. N.

Une activité autour de la terre leur était proposée lundi. Midi Libre – W. N.

Cette année, ils sont douze collégiens à pouvoir bénéficier de cet enseignement adapté et aménagé qui leur permet de reprendre confiance après un parcours scolaire souvent compliqué.

With his left arm in a sling, Arthur tries to dig a hole fifteen centimeters deep, helped by his friend Evan. “It's relaxing to come to the garden, it teaches us the cycles, the seasons”, says the teenager. On this Monday morning in January, there are ten students busy, shovel and spade in hand, as part of their work in the Caramus shared garden in Frontignan. Before planting onions, nasturtiums and cabbages, they are invited by their instructor to understand the richness of the soil.

“Rather than being in a traditional school posture, we will suggest that they be active, in motion with projects like this one, namely the creation of a garden of the senses. It is a pretext to work on mathematics, biology or even visual arts”, details Annabelle Rousselle. A librarian at the Maurice-Clavel high school in Frontignan, she is also the main teacher of the 4th grade Succès class, which offers teaching adapted to students with dyslexia.

Reduced class size, computer, projects…

Dyslexia, dysorthography, dyscalculia, dyspraxia… “I have them all”, assures Romain, after dropping his shovel. He too is delighted by this outdoor activity which allows him to “move”. He is even more delighted to have joined, last September, this specialized class, created in 2013 within the vocational high school. “People don't understand what it's like to be dyslexic, they say it's nothing but in fact, it makes things really complicated, testifies the one who was until then educated in another college in Frontignan. There, when we say we don't understand, the teachers will come and explain to us. Before, I couldn't do my multiplication tables and now, I can handle it. I think it's because when I had to do a test, it stressed me out too much.”

The conditions are indeed met to ensure these middle school students optimal learning. First, the number of students, which in this 2024-2025 school year, is twelve. “It's better because in my other middle school, there were too many people, some talked too much and it was annoying”, says Assia, one of the students. Each middle school student also has a computer in class. A means of “to regulate dysorthography problems. They get tired quickly when writing, so this helps them to understand the lessons”, explains their main teacher. The use of video, manual work, the absence of homework or even the development of concrete projects allows them to rediscover “the taste for school. These are students who have had a complicated school career. Some had developed school phobias, were demotivated”, adds Annabelle Rousselle, surrounded by a team of volunteer teachers and a school support assistant.

“A class like this in all middle schools”

In addition to adapting the lessons, the teachers also take into account the possible attention and hyperactivity disorders of these children linked to dys disorders. In the garden, one of them does not leave a tennis ball, which is intended to be anti-stress. “Some ask me to leave the room while they calm down, for example. There was one who also took his classes sitting on the floor. We try to put them at ease, we get away from the stereotypes that we can have”, says their French-English teacher, Annabelle Arbonville. Who, over the years, has noticed that “these are the students who work the best afterwards. They are very curious, ask a lot of questions, wonder about the world”.

At the end of their successful 4th year, the middle school students will continue in third year at the agricultural vocational high school. Then they will be able to choose one of the training courses provided by the establishment, or elsewhere. A formula that works so well that several registration files have to be rejected at the beginning of each year. And which especially makes Romain say: “We should put a class like that in all middle schools”.

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