What Sciences à l'École does

Sciences à l'École is a French ministerial educational device (dispositif ministériel) founded in 2004 and hosted at the Observatoire de Paris-PSL, at 61 avenue de l'Observatoire, Paris. It functions as a publicly funded non-profit that promotes scientific culture in French secondary schools (collèges and lycées), serving teachers, students and academy-level administrators across France. The organization is financed by the French Ministry of National Education and provides all of its services free of charge to participating schools, with no commercial revenue stream, no outside equity ownership, and reliance on volunteer contributions from professors, researchers, doctoral and undergraduate students.

Its core products fall into three lines. First, the Concours CGénial national team competition for secondary-school scientific projects, with Collège and Lycée tracks culminating in an annual national final. Second, the selection, training and support of French delegations to three international science olympiads: the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) and International Physics Olympiad (IPhO). Third, six equipment lending plans (ASTRO, COSMOS, EXPERTS, GÉNOME, MÉTÉO and SISMOS à l'École) that loan specialized scientific instruments — including telescopes, cosmic-ray detectors, criminalistics kits, genomics and meteorology equipment, and seismographs — to schools, paired with teacher training, pedagogical resources and a network of equipped establishments. Supporting assets include the IRiS robotic telescope at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, which schools can operate remotely for astrophysics projects, and an annual astronomical image competition. Notable technical components are the remote-operation interface for IRiS, the integrated earthquake-monitoring stations used in SISMOS à l'École, and the EXPERTS criminalistics kits co-developed with the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN).

Its business model is non-commercial: program participation, equipment loans, competitions and training are free to schools, with the organization operating as an arm of the French state education system. Distribution flows through France's regional academy network rather than a sales motion, with applications and equipment allocation managed centrally. Revenue mechanics are government funding plus in-kind contributions (sponsor books and games from CNRS Éditions, Larousse, Dunod, Bioviva and the Société Astronomique de France) rather than pricing models, contracts or ARR. Customer segments are essentially a single segment — French secondary schools — augmented by a narrow persona of Première/Terminale students preparing for international olympiads.

Name

Sciences à l'École

Legal name

Sciences à l'École

Website

https://sciencesalecole.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sciences à l'École is a French ministerial educational initiative founded in 2004, hosted at the Observatoire de Paris, that provides free scientific equipment loans, national competitions, and olympiad preparation to French secondary schools (collèges and lycées) under Ministry of Education funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Public Educational Funding: Sciences à l'École is a ministerial device financed by the French Ministry of National Education. The organization provides free equipment loans, training, and competition preparation to schools. As a public educational initiative, it does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

test description

Product overview

Sciences à l'École is an educational organization hosted at the Observatoire de Paris that promotes science education in French secondary schools through a portfolio of programs. The core offerings include the national competition CGénial for team-based scientific projects, preparation and selection for French delegations to three International Olympiads (Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Physics), and six equipment lending programs (ASTRO, COSMOS, EXPERTS, GÉNOME, MÉTÉO, SISMOS) that provide specialized scientific instruments to schools along with teacher training and networking. Additional programs include an astronomical image competition and access to the IRiS robotic telescope for student research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Concours CGénial: National competition of scientific and technical projects by mixed teams in secondary schools
• ASTRO à l'École
• COSMOS à l'École
• EXPERTS à l'École
• GÉNOME à l'École
• MÉTÉO à l'École
• SISMOS à l'École
• IESO (International Earth Science Olympiad)
• IChO (International Chemistry Olympiad)
• IPhO (International Physics Olympiad)

Products and services

• test

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Observatoire de Paris (PSL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Observatoire de Paris hosts the Sciences à l'École headquarters and serves as the primary institutional host. The organization operates from the observatory's premises and benefits from its scientific expertise and infrastructure.
• CNRS ÉditionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCNRS Éditions sponsors the astronomical image competition by providing books as prizes for winning teams.
• Larousse ÉditionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLarousse provides books and educational materials as prizes for competition winners.
• DunodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner for IChO and IESO delegations, providing books as rewards for French team members.
• BiovivaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational games publisher sponsoring astronomical image competition with educational board games.
• IRCGN (Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IRCGN is the key partner for the EXPERTS à l'École criminalistics education program. Gendarmes from IRCGN provide training, educational content, and support for schools conducting forensic science activities. Over 20 IRCGN experts participated in initial teacher training.
• ENS de Lyon (École Nationale Supérieure de Lyon)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerENS de Lyon hosts preparation and selection stages for IESO delegations. Provides laboratory facilities, expert staff including Damien Mollex (lithothèque manager), Patrick Thollot (astronomy/planetology), and Olivier Dequincey (Planet-Terre editor).
• Regional Gendarmerie ForcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional gendarmerie units (Gendarmerie de la Mayenne, de l'Isère, de Savoie, du Puy-de-Dôme, etc.) provide local support for EXPERTS à l'École programs, deploying educational criminalistics kits and conducting training sessions in schools.
• CLEa (Comité de Liaison Enseignants et Astronomes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on astronomy education materials, including articles in the Cahiers Clairaut magazine.
• Société Astronomique de France (SAF)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSAF provides one-year subscriptions to the magazine L'Astronomie as prizes for competition participants.
• CY Cergy Paris UniversitéminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the ERRMECe laboratory for student immersion activities in the EXPERTS à l'École program.
• Inserm (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers from Inserm participate in EXPERTS à l'École activities and educational events.
• IN2P3 (Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the COSMOS à l'École program, contributing to particle physics education resources.
• Société Française de Physique (SFP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on physics education events and teacher training programs.
• Société Française d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique (SF2A)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipation in annual SF2A conferences to showcase ASTRO à l'École activities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• European Schoolnet: European network of ministries of education focused on digital and STEM education transformation; comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same educational-policy and science-program space across multiple countries.
• National Science Teaching Association (NSTA): Largest US professional organization for science teachers, providing pedagogical resources, publications, and competitions; comparable as a broader science-education ecosystem player with overlapping teacher-training and competition programs.

Direct peers

• Science Olympiad: US-based non-profit that organizes national science olympiad tournaments and competitions for K-12 students; highly relevant peer given Sciences à l'École's central role in selecting French delegations to international science olympiads.
• Science on Stage Europe: Pan-European network of STEM teachers running festivals, competitions, and teacher exchange programs; highly comparable given Sciences à l'École's competition and olympiad selection model and cross-border scientific collaboration.
• Planète Sciences: French non-profit association that engages young people in scientific and technical projects through hands-on activities and competitions; directly comparable given its focus on school-age science engagement in France.
• Réseau Canopé: French Ministry of Education's public network for educational resources and teacher training; comparable given its similar ministerial affiliation and mission of supporting science teachers and schools nationwide.
• La Main à la Pâte: French foundation dedicated to scientific education in primary and secondary schools; the most direct domestic peer given its similar mission of bringing hands-on science into French classrooms via teacher training and equipment resources.
• European Union Science Olympiad (EUSO): Pan-European multidisciplinary science competition for secondary school students; a natural peer given the overlapping olympiad selection and preparation model Sciences à l'École operates for French delegations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Sciences_Ecole
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sciencesalecole441
• Facebookfacebook.com/sciencesalecole.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sciences-%C3%A0-l-%C3%A9cole
• Instagraminstagram.com/sciencesalecole

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sciences à l'École