It was the students themselves who guided the visitors. The inauguration of Open School of The Saint-Ouen Cross took place last week, in the Mercières ZAC.
The establishment welcomes students from nursery school to year 3 of secondary school. There are already 170 schoolchildren in classes spread over the two floors. “Classes with a maximum of nineteen students, with adapted teaching teams…” explains director Valérie Harlé of Ophove.
Inaugurated in the presence of Xavier Bertrand
Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, was present during this inaugural evening. The almost minister (at that precise moment, and then finally, no), recalled the genesis of this school, of which he saw “the very first steps”.
“It was not a project like any other but a real life-long project,” he declares. We needed this internationally oriented education which allows the Region to strengthen its map of attractiveness.”
“A bilingual and international school” describes Philippe Marini
Same story with Philippe Marini. The mayor of Compiègne welcomes the success of “this original concept which began in Longueuil-Sainte-Marie, before finally settling in Compiègnois. From the start, teaching there was multilingual, with English and Chinese. The original project has evolved but the school has retained its bilingual and international character. The Open School is aimed at parents who have ambition for their children.”
Philippe Marini welcomes “the commitment of the Region which does not forget its duty in terms of education and ensures this policy over the long term”.
School built in seven months
Official remarks which, one suspects, took the form of encouragement from Valérie Harlé d’Ophove, director of this establishment, at the origin of the project. Thursday February 22, 2024, after several years of mobilization, the first stone was laid. A school built in less than seven months which welcomed its first students at the start of the school year in September.”
Valérie Harlé from Ophove evokes “the little flame born in 2012, never extinguished”. She is convinced that school should not be static. “But, on the contrary, it must be ambitious, innovative and human… believes the director. With us, a student costs half as much as in National Education. And yet, each of them benefits from individual monitoring and is part of an internationally oriented course.”
The International Open School was created thanks to the mobilization of goodwill, including Jean Dessessart, mayor of Lacroix Saint-Ouen. And also Stéphane Fontaine, an investor who believed in the project and ensured its technical mastery.
