A small revolution is underway on the heights of Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine).
The vast Saint-Philippe educational and ecological campus (CEESP) of Apprentis d'Auteuil is undergoing a complete transformation.
The in-depth renovation of this historic site is coupled with an exponential development of the workforce.
From 455 students in 2019, the campus welcomes 700 today (+ 54%) and should reach the 800 mark in two years.
“That was the deal.
We needed to ramp up our activity to obtain the funds,” explains Thierry Campos, the director.
On the heights of Meudon, it is almost a small town which dominates the town and the region from the Val-Fleury hill.
Between the buildings more than a century old, vast green spaces, plantations, sports fields.
A middle school, two high schools, a boarding school…
The Apprentis d'Auteuil play on two aspects here, training and education on the one hand, and child protection delegated by the State, on the other hand.
The site has a middle school, a vocational high school, a horticultural and landscaping high school, a boarding school and two child protection establishments totaling 60 places.
“We have the School or Establishment label with a global approach to sustainable development (E3D) and 600 of our young people have been trained in the Climate Fresco,” underlines Thierry Campos.
Thierry Campos, the director of the Apprentis d'Auteuil campus, here in the new boarding school still under construction.
The vast extension and modernization project, which began in 2021 and which is due to be completed within eighteen months, has already made good progress.
The college was transferred from the bottom of the site to the “castle” at the top.
Behind the high walls, the imposing facade and the solemn hall, it is a modern college in every respect which has welcomed nearly a hundred students since the end of 2022.
Middle school level groups set up from 2021
The equipment has been changed, the classes have been renovated, the colors and furniture chosen carefully with the students.
Every last detail has been thought of.
“Some have attention disorders with hyperactivity: we therefore opted for height-adjustable tables and mobile equipment in order to be able to work in an island.
The students took ownership of all of this.
The proof is that there is no deterioration,” points out Céline Pierre, the deputy director of the college.
Beyond the equipment, pedagogy has also evolved with, for example, the establishment in 2021 of level groups to create a middle school without age groups.
“We didn't wait for the government's decisions,” slips an executive from the establishment, referring to the announcements of Gabriel Attal, then Minister of National Education, in December 2023.
Management also talks about integral ecology.
“We are acting on well-being at work with more collaboration between everyone.
While there were tensions before the move, we no longer see any violence,” adds Céline Pierre.
The Apprentis d'Auteuil campus offers, among other things, training in horticulture.
The two upper floors are still under construction: the boarding house, made of wood and noble materials, must be completed in June.
With its rooms for one to five people, it will function according to the degree of autonomy of the residents (from 6th to 12th grade).
There are 80 currently but there will be 110 in September 2025, with a part reserved for girls.
“We will evaluate this regularly,” announces Thierry Campos.
The rehabilitation of the boarding school goes hand in hand with the change in the mode of operation.
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A learning gallery
Outside, the carpentry workshop welcomes CAP and Bac pro courses.
Obviously, the sector is getting back on track since from 10 students in 2019, we increased to 35 four years later.
In the 1950s, the premises were converted into a former German war hospital.
This building will be demolished and then rebuilt.
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Right next door, the 400 m² learning gallery, including 255 workshops, is under construction with its huge bay windows overlooking Paris.
“We will find the original perspective of the castle,” promises the site director.
The gallery will host the
smart grid,
an intelligent electrical network, which will make it possible to control energy consumption and train young people in these techniques.
Ecology being one of the key words of this campus, the latter will also be equipped with a recycling unit for wood and paper waste, as well as photovoltaic panels and other skylights.
A Laguiole offered to donors from 500 euros
The overall renovation is costed at 22.718 million euros.
The Apprentis d'Auteuil Foundation obtained a loan of 13.5 million from the CEB (the Council of Europe Development Bank), which finances social projects.
It also obtained subsidies, notably from the regional council (4.253 million), the departmental council (1.368 million) and more than one and a half million in sponsorship.
The budget is not completely finalized.
A gala dinner in May 2023 raised some 100,000 euros and a support committee was created.
Among its members, managers of large groups like Dassault, business leaders and even Denis Larghero, the mayor (UDI) of Meudon.
Each donor of more than 500 euros will receive a Laguiole knife whose handle will have been fashioned from wood from the castle's windows.
The foundation also calls for donations and has come up with a nice trick to motivate benefactors.
The most generous, those who donate more than 500 euros, will receive a Laguiole knife, the handle of which will have been made from French oak wood from the original windows of the Orphanage.
The apprentice carpenters of Saint-Philippe participated in its development and each knife in this series of 200 is numbered.
After tax deduction, a donation of 500 euros comes to 125 euros.