Lycée Louis-le-Grand facts for kids
The lycée's front facing rue Saint-Jacques and side facing rue Cujas
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Former name
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Collège de Clermont (1563–1682) |
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| Type | local public Institution (EPLE) |
| Established | 1 October 1563 |
| Headmaster | Joël Bianco |
| Students | 1,818 students in 2009 |
| Location |
123 rue Saint-Jacques, Paris
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France
48°50′53″N 2°20′40″E / 48.848056°N 2.344528°E |
| Medium of instruction | French |
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (French pronunciation: [lise lwi lə gʁɑ̃]), often called Louis-le-Grand or LLG, is a public high school in central Paris, France. It is located on rue Saint-Jacques.
It was started in the 1560s by the Jesuits and was first known as the Collège de Clermont. In 1682, it was renamed after King Louis XIV ("Louis the Great"). This school has always been one of France's top secondary schools. Even when the Jesuits were forced to leave in 1762, the school continued to be important.
Louis-le-Grand offers both a high school program and special post-secondary classes. These advanced classes, called Classes Préparatoires, help students prepare for top universities in science, business, and humanities.
Contents
Where is Louis-le-Grand located?
Louis-le-Grand is in the middle of the Quartier Latin, a famous student area in Paris. Many other old and important schools are nearby. The Sorbonne is to its west. The Collège de France is to its north. The Panthéon campus of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University is to its south. The Sainte-Geneviève Library is also close by.
History of Louis-le-Grand
The Jesuit College (1560-1762)
The Jesuits came to Paris in the 1540s. In 1550, Guillaume Duprat, the bishop of Clermont, invited Jesuit students to stay in his home. This house became the first permanent home for the Jesuits in Paris.
When Bishop Duprat died in 1560, he left money to build a new Jesuit college in Paris. The Jesuits bought land on rue Saint-Jacques in July 1563. They started teaching there in late 1563. The new school was named Collège de Clermont to honor Bishop Duprat.
The college quickly became very popular. It offered free and high-quality education. This was different from the older University of Paris. The college's theology classes were so popular that the buildings were too small.
The University of Paris did not like the Jesuits from the start. They tried to stop the college from being recognized. However, the Jesuits had support from the king and powerful families. This allowed them to continue teaching and grow.
During the Siege of Paris (1590) in 1590, the college stayed open, though with fewer students. In 1594, a former student tried to kill King Henry IV. Because of this, the king expelled the Jesuits from France. The college building was used for the royal library.
In 1603, Henry IV allowed the Jesuits to return. They got their college building back in 1606 and fully restarted teaching in 1610. After some more challenges, King Louis XIII finally allowed them to teach for good in 1618.
The college quickly became successful again. Kings often visited the school. In 1674, Louis XIV visited and gave the school a painting by Jean Jouvenet. This painting, Alexander and the family of Darius, is still in the principal's office today.
Many famous scholars taught at the college. The college library had about 40,000 books by 1718. The Jesuits also built an observatory in 1660 and elaborate sundials in 1679. These sundials can still be seen today.
The college expanded by buying more buildings. In 1682, Louis XIV officially allowed the college to change its name to Collegium Ludovici Magni, or French: Collège Louis-le-Grand. This showed that the king supported the school. A black marble sign with the new name was placed on the building.
In 1700, Louis-le-Grand took over the École des Jeunes de langues. This school taught foreign languages. Antoine Galland, who first translated One Thousand and One Nights into a Western European language, studied and taught there.
After 1762
In 1762, the Jesuits were ordered to stop teaching and leave the college. The school became a national institution and was renamed Collège royal Louis-le-Grand. Teachers from other schools took over.
This change led to a big reform of the University of Paris. Students from many smaller colleges were invited to study at Louis-le-Grand. This made Louis-le-Grand the main center of the university.
During and after the French Revolution, the college changed its name many times. It was called Collège Égalité, Prytanée français, and Lycée impérial. Finally, in 1873, it became Lycée Louis-le-Grand again, and has kept that name ever since.
Louis-le-Grand was the only school in Paris that stayed open all the time during the difficult 1790s. Parts of the building were used as army barracks and even a prison.
The school expanded over the years by acquiring more land. However, the main buildings became very old and unsafe. From the 1840s, there were plans to rebuild the school.
Between 1885 and 1898, Louis-le-Grand was almost completely rebuilt. This was a huge project and cost a lot of money. The new design created large courtyards and many classrooms. This rebuilding happened at the same time as other major construction projects in the neighborhood.
During World War I, the school was hit by bombs. One bomb went through the main entrance hall in 1918. During World War II, Jacques Lusseyran, a student, started a resistance group called Volontaires de la Liberté. Many of his fellow students joined.
The last major new building was an auditorium, finished in the late 1950s.
Louis-le-Grand also saw some unrest during the May 68 protests in France. In 1968, it hosted a meeting where high school students called for a general strike.
Since 1972, the school has a collection of old scientific instruments. These are now part of the Musée Scientifique du lycée Louis-le-Grand.
How Louis-le-Grand operates today
Louis-le-Grand has about 1,800 students. Nearly 10% of them are from over 40 different countries. About half of the students are in high school, and the other half are in the classes préparatoires. The school can house 340 students in its boarding facilities.
Louis-le-Grand, along with Lycée Henri-IV, has been special because it doesn't follow the usual rule for school enrollment. Most French schools enroll students based on where they live. But Louis-le-Grand can choose its students from anywhere. This has been criticized because it might help French elites stay in power. In 2022, a reform was planned to change this.
Famous former students
Louis-le-Grand has played a big role in educating many important people in France. In 1762, a scholar said it was "the most fertile nursery for great men." Many former students have become influential leaders, writers, artists, scientists, and thinkers.
The school has seven Nobel Prize winners among its alumni. It also has one Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winner and six Fields Medal winners (for mathematics).
Some of the famous alumni include:
- Nobel Prize winners: Frédéric Passy (Peace, 1901), Henri Becquerel (Physics, 1903), Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran (Medicine, 1907), Paul d'Estournelles de Constant (Peace, 1909), Romain Rolland (Literature, 1915), Jean-Paul Sartre (Literature, 1964), Maurice Allais (Economics, 1988), and Serge Haroche (Physics, 2012).
- Statesmen and politicians: Seven French presidents (like Raymond Poincaré and Jacques Chirac) and eight Prime Ministers (like Pierre Mendès France and Laurent Fabius). Also, Maximilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins from the French Revolution.
- Scientists: Famous mathematicians like Évariste Galois and Henri Poincaré, and Fields Medal winners like Cédric Villani.
- Writers: Molière, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Aimé Césaire.
- Philosophers: Voltaire and Denis Diderot.
- Artists: Painters like Eugène Delacroix and Edgar Degas, and filmmaker Georges Méliès.
- Business leaders: André Citroën and André Michelin, who founded famous car and tire companies.
Other school locations
Gentilly estate (1638-1770)
The Collège de Clermont bought land in Gentilly to create a country retreat. This large property was later sold after the Jesuits left. One of its buildings still exists today as a photography museum.
Vanves annex (1853-1864)
In 1798, Louis-le-Grand acquired land in Vanves. In the 1840s, they planned to build an annex there for younger students. In 1853, this became the only place for their middle school classes. It became a separate school in 1864 and is now known as the Lycée Michelet.
Luxembourg Garden annex (1885-1891)
In 1882, Louis-le-Grand was given land near the Jardin du Luxembourg to build new classrooms. This new annex opened in 1885. It became an independent school in 1891 and is now called the Lycée Montaigne.
Abu Dhabi Section (2008-2017)
From 2008 to 2017, Louis-le-Grand worked with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. They started a special math and science class in Abu Dhabi. French professors taught these classes in English. Students who finished the program received a certificate from Louis-le-Grand.
Gallery
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Front side on rue Saint-Jacques
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Cour Victor Hugo
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Cour Victor Hugo
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Cour Molière
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Cour d'Honneur
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See also
In Spanish: Liceo Louis-le-Grand para niños
- List of Lycée Louis-le-Grand people
- List of Jesuit sites
- College of Navarre
- Lycée Henri-IV
- Secondary education in France
- List of schools in France
