Centres of Excellence are a new and important orientation in school policies. They aim to promote the success of pupils who are motivated but do not benefit from a favourable social or family environment to develop their potential. The internship scheme should enable these young people to work under good conditions and to have appropriate mentoring throughout the day. It can be seen as a very intensive and proactive form of priority education. The Sourdun boarding school was the first to open its doors in early 2009. It was followed by another 44 places, with the result that 4 173 places were available in the boarding school of excellence at the start of 2012. The budgetary commitment of this policy, which is concentrated on a relatively small number of pupils, justifies the efforts made to evaluate it.