The French snow class: How the focus of a school innovation changed from physical education to academic learning (1953-1981)

In 1953, for the first time in the history of French public education, elementary school students lived and learned in the Alps for one month. They were from Gambetta Elementary School in Vanves, France, and the inventor of this innovation was Dr. Max Fourestier, the school doctor. Praised for their therapeutic benefits for the students, snow classes' gradually spread to other schools during the period 1960-1970, appearing in programs across the nation. Our study aims to show how the teachers in Vanves moved the original focus of the snow class, from skiing classes (physical education), towards an academic study of the environment, in which students studied the characteristics of the Alps and their assets.