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School can be a factor of inequality, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Today, several cities are experimenting with social diversity. This is the case in Toulouse, where 1,200 students from difficult neighborhoods study in establishments in the city centre.
Every morning, Adam has to leave his popular neighborhood, which has more students in difficulty than the average, south-west of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). Like dozens of other children, he is no longer attached to his sector college, and must take a shuttle financed by the department for the greatest experiment in mixed education ever attempted in France. The students study in a renowned establishment, the Michelet college, located in the city center.
Initially, Adam lived the experience as an uprooting. “I didn’t want to leave my neighborhood, but today I’m not afraid anymore, because I got used to it”, he confides. In his 4th grade class, he is perfectly integrated, like his other classmates. Limited to a maximum of five students per class, the system is rather well received by teachers. “This is good for everyone: teachers, students who come from the sector, and those who come from elsewhere”, says a teacher.