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them in the design of an eco-apartment which they used as a model to help local housingestate residents reduce their energy bills. The local authority Rhône-Alpes was so impressedwith the quality of the team’s work that it gave the class € 15,000 to spend on state-of-theartenergy-saving solutions. The school (through Aléa) is now monitoring the effectiveness ofthese technologies over time and is a test case for their future development.Explaining their work in English was something the Aléa team recognised as essential in businessso they corresponded in English virtually with peers running an equivalent project in a Romanianschool and astutely worked with their English teacher to convey energy awareness concepts.“There was a point in the lessons where the pupils were better at communicating their subjectthan me. It is rare to see suchinterest. Some of them came toschool in suits for their presentationsand brought photographs of Aléa’swork. They showed real pride ineach other’s achievements,” relatesNathalie Dourlot, English teacher.“My group worked on the school’senergy consumption. It was a verydifferent type of pedagogy that gaveus a sense of our value. We workedwith people in positions of influenceand companies. It opened a door tothe world around us.”A penultimate part of the project wasMaxime, age 17.a presentation in front of politiciansat the prestigious Rhône-Alpes General Assembly. Here the committed team was able todemonstrate their confi dence, subject matter expertise and the scale of their accomplishments.In year 2012-13, 20 pupils have opted for the “Technology and Renewable Energy”baccalaureate taught by Fabien, including three girls. The Aléa experience has been the talkof the school and has inspired, it seems, not only more pupils, but more girls, to considersustainable development as a future career path.26