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The 11 questions you ask us about Hub School 21

Dernière mise à jour : 7 avr. 2021

Hub School 21 in Vincennes (closed to Paris) is the first school of the Hub School 21 innovative schools network. We offer new ways of learning to bring out and value the best of everyone. Hub School 21 uses the “learning by doing” and “flipped class” active pedagogies to enable children to be authors and actors of their learning path, in relation to the world around them and relaying on all potentials.


We pay special attention to self-development (self-knowledge, handling emotions, relationship to others…), non-violent communication and sustainable development.

We open up academic subjects, spaces, time and ages in an inclusive, collaborative and constructivist approach.

The use of new technologies and training in relevant digital uses are included in timetable, serving the projects carried out.


The project is hold by three multi-skilled leaders, either parents, teachers and/or entrepreneurs, all involved in the social and solidarity economy. They are surrounded by versatile experts, in link with National Educational Minister, families, companies and associations.


During the exceptional period we have been going through since March 2020, the team quickly adapted to offer online educational continuity for all our students from 1st to 3rd year: coaching and individual mentoring, personalized monitoring of children, video-conferences in small groups, fun and creative workshops around the sciences and the arts, collaborative reading and writing, etc ...)!


1/ Will my child be able to follow all his schooling at Hub School Vincennes ?


Our ambition is to gradually open all sections from the age of 6 (Cours Préparatoire) to 18 (Terminale).

We opened the Hub School 21 pilot school in Vincennes for children aged from 8 to 13 in September 2017 with a dozen children. The three classes CM1-CM2-6è represent the same academic cycle, called “Cycle 3”, which is a transition between the end of primary school and the secondary school, and therefore a basic pillar of education. In December, facing a strong demand, we opened the classes “5è” (age 13) and “4è” (age 14). Starting from September 2018, we have welcomed children from Primary School to the end of Middle School.


We will now accompany them by opening gradually High School levels over the years.


New pupils will therefore come and increase gradually the size of the school, with a maximum of 25 children for the current school year. Our school welcomes children aged 6 to 15.


A personalized course can be set up for children wishing to benefit from adapted schedules and to complete a cycle combining studies / arts or studies / sports or studies / digital.


2/ Does Hub School Vincennes prepare the pupils for official exams?


Yes, Hub School Vincennes prepares for official exams. Our pedagogic approach is based on excellence of tools, people, places and projects. It is supported by the Ministry of Education. We develop and validate each year all the skills of the common core. Pupils in the classes 3è, 1ère and Terminale have special training for exams, both written and oral.


For the first two years when we presented students for the Brevet des Collèges exam, 100% of our students succeeded, in 2019 and 2020.100%

success rate on the Brevet des Collèges


3/ Will my child be able to change schools after a cursus in Hub School 21 Vincennes?


Of course, each child can attend another school after one or several years spent in Hub School 21 Vincennes, since the core skills and knowledge will be validated over and at the end of the year, in accordance with the core progression reference of National Education.


In addition to immediate daily feed-back, each pupil has got a portfolio, or digital booklet, to track all the skills acquired. The child also carries out a self-assessment of his progress and commitment. He receives a personalized and constructive assessment for his achievements and his commitment.


4/ What does « decompartmentalize » mean ?


To foster the success and wellbeing of children, we create an atmosphere conducive to learning. Therefore, we decompartmentalize spaces, time and school subjects with particular emphasis on autonomy, inclusion, confidence and empowerment. To this end, we provide learning situations that are at once playful, complex and motivating, in relation to the environment.





Spaces: we regularly move to third-locations, which are so many “learning spots” fields facilitating learning: museum, fablabs, sports hall, companies, incubators, natural areas … by creating links over time between resource persons from these places, projects and our pupils. The children are thus changemakers in the society. They bring solutions to real issues.


Time: children learn at their own pace, thanks to a personalized schedule. Time slicing is flexible, variable, with large time slots if necessary, weekly adjusted. Each child has enough time to go to the end of concepts without being penalized by a pace that would defeat him/her.


Ages: we alternate work groups (pair-work, cycle groups, large groups) according to themes and needs. The children enter learning in a transversal mode, per short, medium or long term projects.


School subjects: core skills are validated individually over time, through interdisciplinary cooperative projects and by presenting realizations (“chef d’oeuvres”) in congress, exhibitions, performances, “genius time”…


Digital technology is a tool serving learning, which facilitate decompartmentalization and assessment. Differences, often displayed as a brake in educational system, are thus erased, whether cognitive or physical.


Following the confinement and the Coronavirus epidemic, space and time have been modified to adapt to the conditions imposed for remote monitoring of our students. In 2020-2021, we want to build on the positive lessons learned from this period and offer certain distance activities for our students who could not come to school for different reasons, or for others, who would only follow this pedagogy. on-line. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.




5/ Active pedagogies, what is this?


Active pedagogies include project-based learning, problem solving, case studies, experimentation and research based learning. Experience, creativity, enquiry are at the center of the learning process. We also apply the Design Thinking approach to address issues and learn. This cooperative and reflexive approach includes 4 stages: to imagine, to search, to propose, to disseminate.


The child is a researcher who learns by asking questions and by working with his peers. He is actor and author of his curriculum.

Trial and error are support points to go on. The realization of “masterpieces” (articles, artistic productions, videos…) allows to value the child’s work, to make sense of learning, and to increase motivation.


Adults ensure respect for the framework, set academic targets with the children, help in building knowledge, make possible the construction and deepening of the concepts approached. The adult is a mentor for the child, at once teacher, guide, coach and tutor. He has a constructive view of progress and, thanks to regular feedback, allows everyone’s success.


Active pedagogies were born in the United States in the early 20th century, with Dewey, offering in his lab-school concrete activities supporting learning. This is the “learning by doing”. Experiments conducted in France and abroad (Quebec, Finland, Singapore, etc…) show that these approaches help the development of “soft skills” such as autonomy, creativity, cooperation… and also allow to improve significantly academic performance, especially if they are combined with self-development.


6/ What is « self development ? »


Self-development consists in improving self-knowledge and knowing each other, that means identifying one’s strengths and talents, one’s patterns, in relation to positive psychology and multiple intelligences.


The structuring of time and activities in the school was designed to allow time for inclusion in the group, sharing of experiences, exchange of ideas and decision-making regarding the collective. The goal is for everyone to feel welcomed and listened to. For example, the practice of positive feedback leads to become more thoughtful to oneself and to the others, more benevolent and to improve the quality of relationships. It also helps to develop emotional intelligence and verbal expression.


Children have multiple opportunities to take responsibility. In addition to the class responsibilities that allow its proper functioning (cleaning the room, sorting equipment, watering plants, garden maintenance, weather, call ...), they manage the weekly Collaborative Council on a rota basis: they establish the agenda and lead the assembly. The secretary lists all decisions made in writing. This Council is an opportunity to strengthen the cohesion of the group, to make a point about the organization of the school, make choices about projects progress and vote before making decisions.




7/ What about foreign languages?


In the timetable, languages are taught for themselves, especially through digital and reading, through projects in foreign languages (eg articles, contests, coding, dance, life and earth sciences, cooking, yoga etc.), thanks to stays abroad and exchange agreements with other schools that will be offered as soon as possible. Particular emphasis is placed on learning English. Three mornings a week are devoted to it. Students can apply to exams such as TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS with a specific preparation.


All children have started Spanish class since September 2018. We have open a Chinese class since September 2020.

8/ Who is in the Hub School 21 teaching team in Vincennes?


The holder of the Hub School 21 project, Fanny Peissik, has cumulative experiences of mother, teacher and entrepreneur.


After working in a company, Fanny has been teaching in Primary school for 18 years. She is a recognized as an expert in pedagogical innovation and regularly expresses at conferences in France and abroad.


Florence Castagnos is the president of the Hub School 21 association and she is responsible for the back-office management. She is specialized in multidisciplinary teams coaching and management. She is passionate about educational change.


Alexis Jacquand develops the strategy of the school. As a corporate executive and an international expert, he lived in 16 different countries to accompany food industries in organizational and human transformations. He strengthens relations with the school's partners and works on the project development with Fanny and Florence.


They are surrounded by about twelve polyvalent stakeholders including a sophrologist, sportsmen, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and teachers ... The whole team has a good knowledge of the educational system in its totality. Each one brings his skills and talents to the success and the well-being of the student in accordance to official curricula.




The school networks particularly with companies and various associations. Each child has a mentor who accompanies him, welcomes him once a year to his/her workplace and undertakes to introduce him each year to two people around him/her who do not do the same job.


The school team, to embody the values it wishes to spread among children, is constantly training and inquiring, practicing self-improvement, develops its talents and expresses its doubts ... In so doing, the team progresses “tightly”, with agility and being attentive to the development of the best in each.


The team is surrounded by a Committee of recognized experts from the National Education system, research, community organizations, sporting world and business world.



9/ What does a typical schedule look like?


The schedule is readjusted every fortnight in consultation with outside contributors and children. It includes a drafting time at the beginning of the week, on Monday morning, by the child with his "coach" according to clear targets, in order to personalize the courses. Thanks to a personalized work plan, children learn in the morning with peers and adults, or alone as needed. Feedback times are included, regular, collective or individualized. Every day, mental calculation, silent reading, games, meditation and social skills workshops are proposed. The afternoon is dedicated to project implementation, arts and sport.


On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, we have creative and fun activities in English, Spanish or Chinese.


Thematic weeks are organized during the year and we attend different Congresses during which the children conduct workshops, take part in international projects and present their written or audiovisual works.


For example: participation in the Education Fair in November 2017, invited by Google Edu for coding, making videos for Contests “Toi-Même Tu Filmes” and “My Class Has Got Talent”, participation in the fair Code&Play in Nice to achieve an international challenge “the City of Tomorrow” (model, coding and robotics), a visit to the incubator WAI of BNP Paribas to think a "bright future", an afternoon discovering the Master Class of countertenor Philippe Jarrousky, etc








The first weeks of the school year are special and allow to create the atmosphere of the school, its regulation, to create the cohesion of the group and its ecosystem, to define the projects and to determine the timetables with the children and the educational team. After spending a few days building the base of our community, we go to meet a few companies and third-place partners already identified by the teaching team in order to consolidate links with contact persons who work in these locations In doing so, we concretely address all the points of the program by organizing our trips, workshops - adult / children workshops on specific topics - with people working on the partner places, by conducting interviews, reports in the form of articles and videos: geography, writing, mathematics, moral and civic education, history and science, digital skills are concretely trained, in connection with the construction of the school ecosystem.


Two school trips will be scheduled during the year:

- one during the first period to bond the group: English Class in October 2017 in Brittany, Exchanges with schools in Barcelona in September 2018, School Immersion in Finland in November 2019 and in Montreal in March 2020

- one at the end of the school year, fully prepared with the children, to close the year: Salon Code&Play in Nice in April 2018 and in April 2019 in association with the Research and Innovation Laboratory of Nice


Moreover, Learning Expeditions are regularly organized with Middle School pupils to participate in international gatherings, be inspired by worldwide schools' best practices and share our own teaching methods (in Quebec in March 2019, in Barcelona in July 2019, in Helsinki in Finland in November 2019 and in Montreal in March 2020...).


In view of Covid-19, we are adapting our trips in 2020-2021 by favoring links with our local ecosystem and will once again consider more distant trips when the global health situation allows it.


Some practical details about the organization ...



The children bring their lunch-box every day and we can warm the dishes at school ...


10/ Where is the school located?


Our Hub School 21 pilot school in Vincennes is in the center of the city, at 19-21 Rue Diderot. We share the premises with Magic Makers, a start-up that offers coding and robotics activities on extra-curricular time. The place is designed to accommodate some fifty children. Recently renovated, it has an outdoor area, ground floor.


11 / How much are the tuition fees at Hub School Vincennes?


The cost of a pupil's schooling in France, without any help, is more than 10,000 euros *, mostly paid for by the State and, for the private sector, by families. The two main cost drivers for a school are wage costs and accommodation charges. Any new school in France is completely private for a period of 5 years. Although the Ministry of Education has a positive view of Hub School 21, we can’t bend this rule.


Through public and private partnerships, and with support of sponsors, we seek to reduce tuition fees to an acceptable level, close to that of private schools which are under agreements with State.


Currently, tuition fees are 12,500 euros/year. At this amount, we must add 1,300 euros for the pre-registration fee, covering a 5 days’ integration period and ancillary costs (contributions, supplies, insurance, uniforms and trips in Paris area/sports activities).


Please note : As all scholarship applications have already been completed, we are currently unable to offer tuition fees lower than 12,500 euros per year excluding pre-registration fees and ancillary costs.


* source: Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research

http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid61665/le-cout-de-l-education-en-2015-pres-de-7-du-pib-consacres-a-l-education-soit-147-8-milliards-d-euros.html


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