Valrance Relay

The Valrance Relay

Relais Valrance is a holiday center located in Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance , in the south of Aveyron, between Albi and Millau. A member of the French Federation of Circus Schools and the FREC Midi-Pyrénées, it holds FFEC accreditation no. 12342 .

Functioning

Its unique feature is that it doesn't operate like a circus school primarily offering weekly classes to local members. Relais Valrance is first and foremost a group activity center specializing in organizing:

• discovery classes
• summer camps
• stays for children and young people
• school trips
• adapted stays

Circus arts

Circus arts are one of the educational themes offered to visiting groups. Schools can thus create a program that includes a genuine exploration of circus practices.

The activities offered related to the circus include, in particular:

• Acrobatics
• Juggling
• Balances
• Various pieces of equipment

They allow children to experience several major branches of circus arts while developing:

• motor skills
• coordination
• address
• balance
• concentration
• self-confidence

Supervision and qualifications

The activities are supervised by qualified instructors. The educational materials of Relais Valrance specifically mention BIAC among the qualifications used in its program.

This expertise explains the center's presence within the network of the French Federation of Circus Schools. Relais Valrance belongs to the FREC Midi-Pyrénées and holds FFEC accreditation no. 12342 .

Discovery classes

Educational field trips are a major focus of its activities. For preschool and elementary schools, the center offers several main themes, including "Art and Expression," which can combine:

• circus
• theater
• dance
• music
• visual arts
• movie theater
• tales

The content of the stay can be developed according to the teacher's educational plan. The instructors are selected based on their skills, the educational quality of their presentations, and their ability to adapt activities to the groups being hosted.

Circus arts can thus become the central theme of a discovery class or be associated with other artistic, sporting, environmental and cultural activities.

Target audiences and educational objectives

The Relais Valrance also welcomes middle schools, high schools, and Rural Family Homes. Stays can then be structured around:

• cohesion
• integration
• the discovery of the territory
• sporting activities
• projects corresponding to the educational objectives of the institution

Environment and territory

The center is located in a rural environment, at the gateway to the Grands Causses Regional Natural Park . Groups can thus complement their circus project with outdoor activities, environmental discoveries or visits to regional heritage sites.

• landscapes of the Grands Causses
• the Larzac
• the Rougiers
• the Tarn Gorges
• the Millau viaduct
• the Roquefort cellars
• the episcopal city of Albi

Accessibility and adapted stays

Relais Valrance also has extensive experience in welcoming children and adults with disabilities. Adapted stays can be arranged in collaboration with support organizations, and the center takes into account specific needs related to accommodation, activities, and meals.

The activities offered during these stays can be adapted to the abilities of the participants. This aspect is particularly interesting in the context of circus arts, whose diversity allows for the creation of very different educational situations depending on the individuals and groups.

Moreover, the centre has long been integrated into the regional environment of circus schools and discussions around the accessibility of circus practices.

Summer camps

Relais Valrance also hosts holiday camps with a genuine circus theme. Recent stays, for example, combine circus arts and horseback riding, allowing children to discover several disciplines in a troupe atmosphere.

These camps include workshops led by instructors specializing in circus arts. They offer an alternative way to access the practice, different from annual enrollment in a traditional school.

Project, teaching formats and network

The Relais Valrance project is therefore particularly suited to schools, leisure centers, camp organizers and medico-social structures looking for a place capable of combining group accommodation and educational activities.

Its situation is quite unique within the French Federation of Circus Schools: rather than mainly offering weekly classes, the structure uses its holiday center to allow intensive or occasional practice of circus arts within the framework of collective projects.

This organization promotes different teaching formats:

• discovery days
• transplanted classes
• stays of several days
• colonies
• projects combining circus and other disciplines

Relais Valrance also boasts over twenty years of experience in hosting groups. Its membership in the Ethic Etapes network further enhances its focus on social, educational, and group tourism.

Environmental approach

The center also develops an environmental approach. Located in a vast natural area, it works in particular on reducing consumption and waste, local sourcing, biodiversity and the possibility of organizing stays limiting travel.

Conclusion

For schools, the advantage of Relais Valrance lies in the possibility of building a complete project: accommodation, catering, activity rooms, sports infrastructure, entertainment and support in the design of the program can be brought together on the same site.

Circus arts can play a central role with juggling, acrobatics, balancing and apparatus, or be associated with dance, theatre, music, cinema, sports activities and nature discovery.

Relais Valrance is thus an atypical structure within the network of French circus schools. Its FFEC accreditation no. 12342 recognizes its role in the transmission of circus arts, while its operation as a residential center allows it to reach audiences who do not necessarily attend a circus school year-round.

In Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, the circus thus becomes one of the gateways to a broader collective experience combining artistic practice, autonomy, group living, discovery of the territory and outdoor activities.