The Lycée Fénelon is an

academic institution Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where children r ...

located in the

6th arrondissement The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

. It receives its name from

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' Th ...

, a French

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

(1651-1715) who promoted women's education in his writings, notably in his "Traité de l'éducation des filles". The school was founded in 1892, in a building dating from the 17th century. It was initially created as the first high school for girls in

, to prepare female students to the ''

École normale supérieure de jeunes filles The ''École normale supérieure de jeunes filles'' (also, ''École normale supérieure de Sèvres'') was a French institute of higher education, in Sèvres, now a commune in the suburbs of Paris. The school educated girls only, especially as teac ...

''. It later became

coed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

in 1973 for CPGE classes, and in 1979 for high schoolers. Like other ''lycées'' in France, Fénelon functions as an ordinary

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 ...

for years 10–12, but also as an institute to teach the “” (≈

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

) academic programs known as ''

Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles The ''classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles'' (CPGE) (English: Higher School Preparatory Classes), commonly called ''classes prépas'' or ''prépas'', are part of the French post-secondary education system. They consist of two years of stud ...

'' (a.k.a. CPGE, or ''prépas''). Fénelon is in fact regarded as one of France's most prestigious and most competitive institutions in this domain. In particular, its Humanities (''

khâgne (), officially known as , is a two-year academic program in the French “” (≈undergraduate) system, with a specialization in literature and the humanities. It is one of the three main types of (CPGE, informally ), contrasting with other CPGE ...

'') students rank just behind Lycées

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

and Louis-Le-Grand in their rates of success in the annual entrance competition to ENS (“Concours”).

History

In the 18th century, the building that now houses the lycée was a luxury mansion, the Hôtel de Villayer, where Enlightenment scientists met. Its last owner sold it to the State in 1883, which made it the first high school for young girls in Paris. While most of the new boys 'high schools of the time were built from scratch, giving rise to buildings with a monumental style, the girls' high schools, like the Lycée Fénelon, often reinvested in old buildings. Moreover, the location of this first female high school in the capital is not insignificant, near the Latin Quarter, where the historic high schools of Paris are concentrated. Initially, the Lycée Fénelon prepared girls to enter the ''

'' located in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

until 1940, and which merged with that of the rue d'Ulm (originally for boys) in 1985. The ''Société des Agrégées'' was founded there in 1920. A professor at Fénelon, Élisabeth Butiaux became its first president.

Notable alumni

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute (; born Natalia Ilinichna Tcherniak ( rus, Ната́лья Ильи́нична Черня́к); – 19 October 1999) was a French writer and lawyer. Personal life Sarraute was born in Ivanovo-Voznesensk (now Ivanovo), 300&n ...

Olivier Py Olivier Py (; born 24 July 1965 in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French stage director, actor and writer. Career In 1997, Py became director of the Centre dramatique national d'Orléans. In 2007, he became director of the Théâtre de l'Odéon ...

Dominique Aury Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel ''Story of O'' (1954). Early life Born in ...

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

Maryse Condé Maryse Condé (née Boucolon; February 11, 1937) is a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel ''Ségou'' (1984–85).Condé, Maryse, and Richard P ...

Assia Djebar Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (30 June 1936 – 6 February 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar ( ar, آسيا جبار), was an Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker. Most of her works deal with obstacles faced by women, and she is noted fo ...

Charlotte Casiraghi Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi (born 3 August 1986) is a Monégasque model, socialite, writer, editor, equestrian, journalist, film producer, and humanitarian. She is the second child and only daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and S ...

Jonathan Littell Jonathan Littell (born October 10, 1967) is a writer living in Barcelona. He grew up in France and the United States and is a citizen of both countries. After acquiring his bachelor's degree he worked for a humanitarian organisation for nine year ...

Maxence Caron Maxence Caron (born 1976) is a French writer, poet, philosopher and musicologist. Biography He is ''agrégé'' in Philosophy (in 1999), Docteur ès lettres (at Sorbonne in 2003 with Rémi Brague as a thesis director. Director at the Publishi ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

Louis Garrel Louis Garrel (born 14 June 1983) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his starring role in '' The Dreamers'', directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

Chiara Mastroianni Chiara Charlotte Mastroianni (born 28 May 1972) is a French actress and singer. She is the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Early life Mastroianni was born to French actress Catherine Deneuve and Italian actor Marcello Ma ...

Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz (director), Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film ''City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupau ...

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

Ginette Mathiot Ginette Mathiot, Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, (23 May 1907 – 14 June 1998) was a French food writer and home economist. Mathiot wrote over 30 books including the famous ''Je sais cuisiner'' which sold over 6 million copies; she a ...

* Denise Bonal *

Juliette Benzoni Juliette Benzoni (30 October 1920 – 7 February 2016) was a French author and international bestseller in several genres, including historical romance, historical fiction, mystery fiction, mystery and screenplay, screenwriting. In 1998, at th ...

Hélène Solomon-Langevin Hélène Solomon-Langevin (25 May 1909 – 16 January 1995) was a French politician. She was elected to the National Assembly in 1945 as one of the first group of French women in parliament. Biography Solomon-Langevin was born in Fontenay-aux-Ro ...

* Geneviève Pastre *

Françoise Héritier Françoise Héritier (15 November 1933 – 15 November 2017) was a French anthropologist, ethnologist, and feminist. She was the successor of Claude Lévi-Strauss at the Collège de France (Chair of Comparative Studies of African Societies from ...

* Francesca Yvonne Caroutch * Michèle Battut *

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Nicolas Hulot Nicolas Jacques André Hulot (; born 30 April 1955) is a French journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and honorary president of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, an environmental group established in 1990. Hulot ran as a candida ...

Le Figaro étudiant, "Découvrez les diplômes des ministres du gouvernement Édouard Philippe"
/ref> *

Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister ...

Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more than 140 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in '' The Officers' Ward'', which was entered into the 2001 Can ...

* Hakim Karoui *

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* Gisèle Vienne *

Katell Quillévéré Katell Quillévéré (born 30 January 1980) is a French film director and screenwriter, known for directing the films ''Love Like Poison'' (2010) and ''Suzanne (2013 film), Suzanne'' (2013). In 2015 she was selected to be a member of the jury for ...

Leïla Slimani Leïla Slimani (born 3 October 1981) is a Franco-Moroccan writer and journalist. She is also a French diplomat in her capacity as the personal representative of the French president Emmanuel Macron to the ''Organisation internationale de la Fran ...

Christine and the Queens Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier (; born 1 June 1988), known professionally as Christine and the Queens and Redcar, or occasionally simply Chris, is a French singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Nantes, he started learning piano at the age o ...

Buildings

The teachers room is registered as a French ''Monument historique''. Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - bâtiment principal.jpg, The main building from the street Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - bâtiment principal 2.jpg, The main building from the backyard Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - cour.jpg, The playground Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - annexe.jpg, The second building Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - réfectoire - 1.jpg, The refectory and its frescoes, painted by Albert Dagnaux Lycée Fénelon (Paris) - buste.jpg, Bust of Fénelon in the parlor Paris - Lycée Fénelon - Salle des professeurs - 1.jpg, The teachers room

References

External links

Official website

Website of the alumni
Fenelon Educational institutions established in 1892 Latin Quarter, Paris 1892 establishments in France {{France-school-stub