They still remain the royal road.
The one that opens the door to the most prestigious establishments.
This Thursday, many students will scrutinize the results of the registration platform in the higher Parcoursup, to see if they are admitted to preparatory classes for the grandes écoles (CGPE).
A course, which allows graduates to continue their academic training for two years in a high school, before attempting competitions.
But these sectors, in which young people from privileged social classes are over-represented, are still mainly concentrated in the capital.
If the Paris Academy has only 100 lycées, it houses 287 preparatory classes.
Conversely, that of Créteil (Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Seine-et-Marne), which brings together 229 high schools, counts only 141, of which only 32 in Seine-Saint-Denis.
There are several in Raincy and a few in more popular towns, such as Saint-Denis or Aubervilliers.
Geographical proximity, an important criterion
To strengthen “social diversity” within the CGPEs, the Ministry of Higher Education ensures that it pays “particular attention” to the projects to open so-called “proximity” preparatory courses, which appeared at the beginning of the 1990s in the towns of suburbs. Because even if a high school student from Seine-Saint-Denis can apply for a Parisian class, geographical proximity remains an important criterion to encourage students to take the plunge… and succeed.
“The defenders of local CPGEs believe that they welcome, in many cases, students who, if they did not exist, would never have attempted the adventure, or who, if they had attempted it in bastion high schools, would have failed due to the poor educational adaptation capacity of the CPGEs, which are located there, ”recalled in 2013 the educational sociologist Yves Dutercq, in his book“ Les Bons Élèves ”.
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But their creation is a complicated process. "The decisions to open a preparatory class are subject to a ministerial decision, which takes place on the proposal of the academy rectors," recalls the Ministry of Higher Education. They depend on several criteria: the recruiting capacity of the class according to the number of high school graduates likely to apply and its location; the impact of its opening on existing classes in the same sector within the academy or the consistency with the map of other training courses offered in higher education.
