Monaco has identified new classroom locations for 840 high school students who cannot return to the former Collège Charles III due to ongoing reinforcement work on the retaining wall above the building.

The students, already informed they would begin term remotely on 5th January at 2:00pm, will move to in-person teaching as soon as new facilities are ready. The government announced on Friday it has secured sites concentrated around Promenade Honoré II.

The solution involves three elements: utilising rooms made available at Collège Charles III and Lycée Rainier III, constructing 22 temporary classrooms at Îlot Pasteur, and relocating higher education students to create additional space.

Domino effect of relocations

To free up classroom slots at Lycée Rainier III for the displaced high school students, the government will temporarily move higher education students to the Ruscino building on Quai Antoine 1er, where the International School of Monaco was formerly located.

The Ruscino building will also house essential non-teaching services for high school students, including guidance counsellors, psychologists, social workers, a library and parent reception areas.

The government has not specified when in-person teaching will resume at the new sites, saying only that the date will be communicated shortly. However, some physical education classes will begin in person from the week of 5th January, with arrangements to be detailed by the education directorate.

Ongoing wall crisis

The students had been using the former Collège Charles III since September 2025 whilst construction continued on their permanent facilities. The Christmas Eve evacuation of nearby residents highlighted critical stress in a retaining wall above the building.

Whilst residents returned home after six days once emergency reinforcement work stabilised the wall, ongoing construction makes student return impossible. The reinforcement work encroaches on the site, ruling out classroom use.

The government has not indicated how long students will remain in these dispersed locations, suggesting the arrangement could extend beyond a few weeks depending on progress with the retaining wall reinforcement.

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Photo credit: Stéphane Danna, Government Communications Department