Ensemble scolaire St Pierre de la Mer
France

Ensemble scolaire St Pierre de la Mer is a multi-school campus with 1,100 students aged 5–18 years old located in the coastal town of Saint-Cyprien in the south of France. As part of the national drive to improve student digital skills, the school focuses on STEAM learning — emphasising science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

When St Pierre de la Mer first began its STEAM programme, the school’s leaders knew that giving students the right technology would be key to their success. They also believed each student should have their own device — one that was portable, secure and versatile enough for individualised learning. So in 2019, St Pierre de la Mer began deploying iPad to teachers and students.

“With iPad, our middle and high school students are learning the indispensable skills that they’ll need in their professional lives”, says Sandrine Olivier, St Pierre de la Mer’s deputy director of middle and high school.

Across the sciences, iPad’s built-in apps and features give students best-in-class learning tools — all in one device. In biology teacher Sophie Padilla’s class, students use Camera to capture the cells they see through their microscopes and then mark up the images in Keynote to annotate their findings. Physics students in Stéphane Calvo’s class observe the motion of rolling objects, record data in Numbers and easily create visualisations to locate patterns within their results.

“iPad gives us teachers more mobility too, allowing us to move around the classroom with our devices so we can give students the right amount of attention”, says Director of Education Stéphane Calvo.

With iPad deployed to every middle and high school teacher, educators at St Pierre de la Mer are introducing new, innovative approaches to teaching in the classroom. In the creative laboratory, computer science teachers use Swift Playgrounds on iPad to teach every student from middle school onwards how to code. They set weekly challenges to test student understanding, such as creating games or developing apps.

Educators also rely on iPad to help students with different learning styles. With so many apps to choose from, students can use whichever tools best support their unique strengths. Visual learners take notes with Pages or Keynote, while auditory learners use Voice Memos to record their thoughts rather than writing them down, and kinaesthetic learners use Clips or Freeform to create tactile learning maps.

“When students are encouraged to find the tools they need to complete their tasks, they discover new ways to show their learnings. This inspires both educators and pupils, and fosters a closer connection between them”, says Calvo.

iPad is a vital part of St Pierre de la Mer’s STEAM approach to learning. With its help, the school is ensuring all students graduate with a love of learning, equipped with the tools they need to succeed in the future.