The north of the Thau basin is eyeing the future Cournonterral high school: “It is impossible to continue going to Sète”

Le futur établissement de Cournonterral devrait être livré au plus tard pour la rentrée 2026. RPA Architecture

La proximité du futur lycée de Cournonterral donne des idées à Villeveyrac, Poussan, Gigean et plus encore Montbazin, qui aimeraient y envoyer leurs jeunes, plutôt qu'à Sète, pour la rentrée 2026. La Région est prête au dialogue.

The first stone will only be laid in a few months, but it is already the object of much desire. The future Cournonterral high school, which was to be delivered in 2022, then 2025 and now "at the latest for the start of the 2026 school year", must above all relieve establishments in western Montpellier and respond to a sharply increasing demographics in this sector (read elsewhere). It was designed for that.

But the opportunity could make the thief. A little further west still, we scrutinize this future infrastructure with envy. Josian Ribes, the mayor of Montbazin, makes no secret of it. He hopes that the high school students in his town will be able to benefit from the establishment which will be built less than 5 km from the entrance to the village, &quot ;in the name of environmental principles, proximity and simplicity". The elected official has already sent several letters to Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie Region, to ask her not to create borders between the region. #39;Agglomeration of Sète and the Metropolis of Montpellier." 

"It is not understandable that the Montbazinois continue to go to Sète"

"I am very attentive to the different phases of this project, because I really don't want anyone to forget us, insists Josian Ribes.It is inconceivable that Montbazinois continue to go to Sète, getting up at dawn and spending hours on buses, when they could reach the future high school in five minutes and even by bike, thanks to the cycle path! Let's not lose sight of the fact that citizens don't care about administrative borders…"

Montbazin is not the only municipality interested. Gigean, Poussan and more Villeveyrac would like the school map to be modified so that their children can go there rather than to Sète, Pézenas or Montpellier. With, each time, similar arguments. "With the Montbazin diversion, we are exactly 10 minutes from Cournonterral while our children take 25 minutes to reach Pézenas and well over half an hour to go to Sète", says Christophe Morgo, the mayor of Villeveyrac.

The Region promises dialogue

"Going by bus to Joliot-Curie in Sète is complicated. Our children have to get up at 6 a.m. and have an hour by bus! It would be much more practical for families to be able to go to Cournonterral", adds Florence Sanchez , mayor of Poussan. In Gigean, the sound of the bell is no different: "We are interested because it's closer. But the services must be satisfactory." The only downside, but it is important, is therefore this: yes to Cournonterral but on condition that the bus service school follows.

A more virtuous and innovative establishment

According to the Region, the future high school will be based on bio-climatic design and architecture, with particular care taken to ensure that it is environmentally friendly. for summer comfort. "It will also deploy renewable energies since heating and cooling The building of the high school will be ensured by geothermal energy and the roofs will be provided with a production of electricity. by photovoltaic panels."

The project's green spaces will represent 61% of the high school's footprint and will accommodate more than 1,000 trees. The establishment will be at your disposal. Positive energy. Finally, it will be "an innovative high school implementing a new pedagogy with the use of digital".

We are still far from it. Being accepted will require a change of school card. That the mayors will ask. Will they be heard ? "We will meet them and listen to their arguments. The door is not closed. This will be done in conjunction with the Academy", assures Kamel Chibli, vice-president of the Region in charge of education. Who adds: "We must respond to a dual objective: to relieve overcrowding in saturated establishments and respond to demographic developments in order to have a real high school proximity. Sectorization must not put other establishments in difficulty."

As it stands, nothing has been decided. But the elected officials of Montbazin, Villeveyrac, Poussan and Gigean will have to be convincing to obtain a sectoral modification of their municipality.

A high school initially planned to relieve the west of Montpellier

With a continued increase in its population, the Montpellier metropolis must, as a corollary, integrate new high school students and sees most establishments in the sector approaching the saturation threshold.

By 2030, the region should accommodate 1,500 additional students. The construction of the Cournonterral high school must therefore provide a real breath of oxygen. “We can't wait for it to open. Because when the students of Cournonterral get up at 6 a.m. to go to the Montpellier high schools, those of Jules-Guesdes, for example, get up at 7 a.m.", recalled Michaël Delafosse, president of the Métropole de Montpellier, during the budgetary orientation debate.

A gymnasium and a boarding school

On February 3, metropolitan elected officials voted to make the local urban planning plan compatible. Supported by the Region, this project will be built on six hectares of communal land.

On this site located to the north of the current Poseidon swimming pool, 20,000 m2 of buildings will be built. The future high school will be flanked by a 2,500 m2 gymnasium and will have a redesigned circulation environment (roads, parking lots, square, stop of future tram bus line number 4, cycle path…) .

Ultimately, the establishment will be able to accommodate 388 high school students, 120 post-baccalaureate students and 50 apprenticeship students since general and professional training will be provided there. It will also have the capacity to feed a thousand half-boarders and will have a boarding school with 50 places.

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