Pupils get a chance to study in France

Some 87 Emirati high school pupils are being given the opportunity to enroll in higher education institutions in France upon graduation as part of the Lycee Louis le Grand (LLG) pilot project in the capital, it was revealed Tuesday during a visit by the French Minister of National Education, Luc Chatel, to the Al Mawahab Model School for Girls in the capital. The minister was accompanied by Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, the director general of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and several guests, including Alain Azouaou, the French Ambassador to the UAE. As part of the tour, the dignitaries met with pupils to discuss the programme, their concerns as well as what awaits them upon graduation. "Offering advanced mathematics and science subjects was an idea inspired by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, four years ago, that is why ADEC implemented the LLG programme which offers students the chance to enter some of the high-end international universities, whether in the UAE or abroad. What you are learning here will help you for the rest of your lives, because you not only improve your academic skills, but you learn how to reason," Dr Al Khaili said. Nurturing passion The project, accredited by the UAE Ministry of Education in partnership with the Lycee Louis Le Grand School in Paris, teaches Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics using a French curriculum taught in English to strengthen their scientific skills and nurture their passion for careers within this diverse field. Its first batch a total of 34 pupils from the Al Mawahab Model School for Girls and the Al Ittihad School for Boys were honoured at a graduation ceremony on June 29, 2011, at the Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. Currently, there are 53 pupils from the Al Mawahab Model School for Girls and 34 from the Al Ittihad Model School for Boys who are taking part in the project. "Pupils who are a part of the LLG project… are presented with several options upon graduation, including enrolling in local universities that have an international programme, enrolling in universities in France… There is also a plan with the Paris Sorbonne University here to establish a science stream… if implemented, it will also provided them with the chance to study scientific majors there," Chatel said.