![DSC 7111-lycee-louis-le-gra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/DSC_7111-lycee-louis-le-gra.jpg)
Les trois lycées de la montagne (literally ''The mountain's three schools'') is a term used to refer to three elite schools in Paris - the
lycée Henri IV
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
,
lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
and the
lycée Saint-Louis
The lycée Saint-Louis is a highly selective post-secondary school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to providing ''classes préparatoires aux grandes éc ...
- to contrast with other French
lycée
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
s, and to suggest characteristics uniting them, with an implied higher social and intellectual rank or
elitism
Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be constructi ...
.
The term refers to the hill
Montagne Sainte-Geneviève
The Montagne Sainte-Geneviève is a hill overlooking the left bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. It was known to the ancient Romans as .Hilaire Belloc, ''Paris (Methuen & Company, 1900)'' Retrieved June 14, 2016 Atop the Monta ...
on which the three lycées, regarded as among the most prestigious of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, are located .
Student traditions include chess and essays competitions as well as other partnership between the lycées. One tradition carried by
classes préparatoires students consists in stealing the most Christmas trees installed in front of the
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...
located near the lycées.
While the
Lycée Saint-Louis
The lycée Saint-Louis is a highly selective post-secondary school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to providing ''classes préparatoires aux grandes éc ...
only offers
classes préparatoires so recruits students based on highly selective criteria through
Parcoursup Parcoursup is a Web portal designed by both the French Ministry of Education
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects ...
, the
Lycée Henri IV
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
and
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
also select
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
students on application with a very low acceptance rate making them the two only public institutions in Paris working this way. This process is being accused of elitism and some projects suggest abolishing it.
See also
*
Clarendon schools
The Clarendon Commission was a royal commission established in 1861 to investigate the state of nine leading schools in England, in the wake of complaints about the finances, buildings, and management of Eton College. It was chaired by the 4th ...
, a somewhat equivalent concept in the UK
*
Golden triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
, sometimes referred to as Loxbridge: an unofficial grouping of Oxford, Cambridge and certain elite universities in London
*
Big Three, a historical unofficial grouping of three elite universities in the United States
*
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
, an unofficial grouping of eight elite universities in the United States
References
{{Reflist
Lycées in Paris
lycée Louis-le-Grand