In the natural sciences, the journal’s ranking of men is dominated by two smaller CEGEPs in Sorel-Tracy and Bai-Comou, where boys graduate beyond expectations.

For the director of Cégep de Sorel-Tracy, there is no doubt that the size of the establishment, with its 1,300 students, makes all the difference.

“We are a very small CEGEP and I would say that is a huge strength,” says Stephanie Desmarais, who speaks of the college on a “human scale.”

The bond between students and teachers is strengthened, as they are “super available” and involved in extra-curricular activities. “It creates relationships with teachers outside the classroom that are beneficial in the classroom,” says Ms. Desmaris.

Despite its small size, CEGEP also has over a dozen sports teams. The proportion of students practicing a sport is 13%, which inevitably has a beneficial effect on boys, says Ms. Desmaris.

The story is similar to that of the Cégep de Baie-Comeau, where the graduation rate for boys in the natural sciences is among the highest in the province.

“Our great strength is the people. We leave no one behind,” says its general manager, Manon Couturier.

She says first and foremost what a difference teachers make. “We have a small group of students, so it allows them to have a more personal approach with our students. They are confident that all students can be successful.”

Natural science student Jacob Girard confirms this. “You can go see your teachers anytime,” he says. The young man says that even when the teacher was with another group of students in the class, he went to his maths teacher and asked a question.

Cégep has also developed “strong ties” with the two secondary schools in Baie-Comeau. The CEGEP math teacher talks directly with her high school colleagues, which allows her to build a better picture of the students who come to her class every time, says Manon Couturier.

Even though he disagrees with the comparison between establishments generated by the journal’s ranking, the executive director believes that the presentation of data by gender is interesting because it gives establishments an opportunity to deepen their reflection in this regard. Is.

“It’s important that we take care of our boys,” she says.

College sports teams encourage boys to continue studying

In high school and college, sports can be a powerful antidote to dropping out of school. Antony Herroux is sure he would have dropped out of school if he didn’t have basketball to motivate him to get up in the morning to go to CEGEP.

“Luckily I had basketball because that’s why I continued to go to school. I often thought of giving up everything to go to work in the shops, but it was actually the team of rebels at CEGEP that inspired me to get my diploma,” he says.

Now 23, the former Cégep de Sorel-Tracy student previously failed a French course, after which he was delayed by a year in his nursing training. He later failed the next internship, leaving him questioning everything.

“I came close to letting go of everything, but basketball inspired me to continue. That’s why I had my diploma, tells the young man who has been practicing this sport since the third year of primary education.

beyond cliché

At Fédération des cégeps, we are convinced that sport can make all the difference, especially for boys.

“It sounds cliché, but we have a lot of evidence for not naming this reality,” says its president and CEO, Bernard Tremblay.

Success rates are often higher among boys registered on sports teams, as is the case with Segpe de Rimouski in particular.

In recent years, the creation of collegiate electronic sports leagues (known as Play) has had an “effect” on boys as well, even if the initiative is not unanimous, says Mr. Tremblay.

Felix-Antoine Kakos, a student in environmental technology, occupational health and safety, is part of his college’s esports team. “It allowed me to make a lot of friends at CEGEP, we work a lot as a team,” he said. said. I find it wonderful.”