France/The Albert-Einstein high school in Bagnols-sur-Cèze is launching its bicycle workshop in partnership with the Gard o Climat association.

Since November, the school in Bagnol has had its own bicycle workshop. Students in the 3e prépa métiers class learn how to repair bicycles in a weekly class supervised by a teacher and two volunteers from the Gard o Climat association.

The Lycée Albert-Einstein in Bagnols-sur-Cèze and the Gard o Climat association signed a partnership agreement in November to set up a bicycle repair workshop at the school. Once a week for two hours, students in^3ème prépa métiers take part in the workshop, supervised by their teacher Jean-Noël Julien and two volunteers from the association. For practical reasons, the class of 24 students is divided into three groups, allowing for rotation each semester.

"We're keen to strengthen our links with local players," says Xavier Ripoll, deputy principal. The aim of this agreement is to promote soft mobility, energize the 3e prépa métiers sections and support students' professional practice."

"The aim is not to do something commercial".

The bikes to be repaired belong to the students or staff of the school. The third-year students first carry out a diagnostic with their teacher to list the parts to be purchased. These will then be invoiced to the "customer", as will the cost of labor, set at 10 euros per hour. The aim is not to do something commercial. We're here so that the students can learn and discover the professional gestures and postures they need to adopt", insists the vice-principal. To limit storage and insurance problems, the workshop can handle no more than five bikes simultaneously.

Since the workshop was launched, the students have been "committed". "I have an hour of theory with them on Thursdays. This allows us to draw up technical sheets and learn about the different parts that make up a bike", explains the teacher. When it's time to get practical, everyone knows what they have to do", and the volunteers contribute their knowledge and share their experience with the students.Since 2023, the Gard o climat association has been running a bicycle repair workshop, now located at 21 chemin de Ronde in Bagnols-sur-Cèze.

Source: www.midilibre.fr/