Parisian middle schools / lower secondary schools are characterised by some of the highest levels of social segregation in France, due to the stark social contrasts between neighbourhoods that are nevertheless geographically close to one another, and the extent to which the most privileged social groups opt for private schools. In response to this situation, the Paris Council voted in January 2017 to create three dual-middle school / lower secondary school catchment areas in the 18th and 19th arrondissements. This scheme involved establishing catchment areas shared by several middle schools / lower secondary schools in order to diversify their social intake. The preliminary findings from the first year of the pilot scheme (2017–2018) are encouraging. Two of the three catchment areas achieved their social diversity target and led to a reduction in the trend of pupils opting for private schools. Whilst the third catchment area did not succeed in rebalancing the social composition of the middle schools / lower secondary schools concerned in the short term, the évaluation results point to several avenues for improvement.
Multi-school catchment areas in Paris: an effective tool for tackling social segregation?
The aim of this report is to assess precisely the impact of multi-school catchment areas on social diversity within the middle schools / lower secondary schools concerned and to gauge the behavioural responses triggered by the various forms this scheme takes.
Reference IPP Policy Brief No. 35
Presentation
Key Results
- At the start of the 2017–2018 school year, three dual-middle school / lower secondary school catchment areas were established in the 18th and 19th arrondissements of the capital, affecting nearly 700 pupils starting Year 7.
- Two separate procedures were implemented to allocate pupils to the newly created zones: the ‘alternating allocation’ system (Berlioz-Coysevox zone) and the regulated choice system (Curie-Philipe and Bergson-Pailleron zones).
- At the end of their first year of operation, the Berlioz-Coysevox and Bergson-Pailleron catchment areas helped to increase social diversity in the middle schools / lower secondary schools concerned and led to a decline in the trend of pupils opting for private schools.
- By contrast, the failure of the Curie-Philipe sector to rebalance the social composition of these two REP middle schools / lower secondary schools in the short term highlights the difficulties inherent in the transition from one allocation system to another.
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