Multilingual private primary school in Aubervilliers (93)
🍃🕊️ Fort School is involved in producing the first olive oil from the 93!
Published on: Monday 15 December 2025
On Tuesday, 9 December 2025, the olive tree at Fort School became the centre of a unique educational experiment. Pupils in Year 6 and the Montessori class took part in harvesting the school’s olives by hand, as part of the “Oh! Olives!” project run by the Les Poussières association in Aubervilliers.
🕵️ An encounter with artist Romain Cattenoz
Mr Romain Cattenoz, the visual artist in charge of the project, came to the school — with his bicycle and cart — to present his initiative and share his knowledge.
Using drawings and concrete explanations, he explained to the pupils all the stages involved in producing olive oil: harvesting, crushing, mixing, pressing, extraction, etc.
He also explained how he built most of his machines himself, arousing curiosity and admiration among the children.
Questions flew: “How can the wheels of the millstone turn?” “Who invented tools?”
A genuine moment of exchange and transmission.
🌳 Harvest time: shake, pick, gather
After the theory, it’s time for practice.
The pupils shook the olive tree using a handmade stick crafted by Romain. The olives fell to the ground, causing excitement and loud cheers. The pupils then carefully picked them up and placed them in bags.
Montessori pupils recount:
Romain came with his bicycle and his cart. He explained to the Year 6 and Montessori pupils how he made his olive-crushing machines to produce olive oil. Then the Year 6 pupils shook the olive tree, the olives fell, and we picked them up. We put them in purple and orange bags. Two Year 6 pupils climbed ladders to pick olives by hand.”
Interclass teamwork in an atmosphere that is both studious and cheerful.
👩🏫 A lesson that goes beyond the classroom
The harvest attracted the attention of the local newspaper in Aubervilliers, which came to cover the event.
In her article entitled “An olive lesson at school”, the journalist highlights the pupils’ enthusiasm, the relevance of their questions and the intergenerational and cultural dimension of transmission.
One accompanying teacher pointed out: “In Kabylie, women and children pick olives by hand, one by one, so as not to damage the tree.”
Words that resonate with the family histories of some students and give this experience a special cultural depth.
🏫 Complete immersion: from school to the association’s premises
The pupils then visited the premises of the Les Poussières association to see the machines in action and gain a better understanding of how olives are transformed into oil.
Seeing the mechanisms in action, observing the specific stages of manufacturing and hearing detailed explanations enabled the pupils to anchor their learning in reality.
The teacher concluded:
“The explanations were very interesting, and seeing the different machines in action gave us a better understanding of how olive oil is made.”
🌍 Learning differently
This experience fully illustrates Fort School’s educational vision: learning through experience, linking theoretical knowledge with practical skills, and integrating the school into its local community.
Sometimes, it is under a tree that one best understands how the world works.
