The Liceo Franco Mexicano A.C. or the Lycée Franco-Mexicain is a private French school with three campuses. It is one of the largest French lycées in the world with over 3,000 students in its two

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

campuses: Polanco in

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican ...

in northern Mexico City, and

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispani ...

in southern Mexico City. The third campus, ''École

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

de Cuernavaca'' (''Escuela Molière'') is in the city of Ocotepec,

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

, Morelos.

History

The Lycée was established in 1937 so that the extensive French community in Mexico could give a French education and culture to their family and stay linked to their motherland. Since then the school has evolved a lot and the number of students has increased considerably. Nowadays the school receives mostly French-Mexican and Mexican students, but also children of many diplomats from all over the world, the children of all the French expatriate workers and many other students from other European countries.

Structure

Before the equivalent of

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 ...

, the school is divided into a "French" and a "bilingual" section. In the first one, all the courses are given in French (except language courses). In the other section, the classes are taught in Spanish, but they include a French language course. By high school, students of the "bilingual" section are proficient in the language and the two sections are mixed together under the French system and all courses are in French.

Academic performance

The academic level of the school is extremely good and it is recognized as one of the best schools in Mexico, especially recognized for its high level of mathematics (on the same level than the Mexican-Japanese Lyceum and the Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt). The results of the Baccalauréat are especially good, with 97% of students having passed the exam. After graduating, the students follow several paths. The majority are admitted into prestigious Mexican universities, however a good amount also follow superior studies in French universities and the so-called "classes prepa". There is also an increasing number of students who decide to study in other countries (US, Switzerland, UK, etc.).

Architecture

The school building was designed by

Vladimir Kaspé Vladimir Kaspé (3 May 1910 – 7 October 1996) was an ethnic Russian, Mexican national architect, teacher, and writer. He was the younger brother of Simon Kaspe. He was married to Masha Shapiro. He was born in Harbin, China on 3 May 1910. He move ...

. The National Institute of Fine Arts (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, INBA) declared that the original building has artistic value. The Secretariat for Housing and Urban Development of the Government of Mexico City (Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda del Gobierno del Distrito Federal; SEDUVI) declared that the original building has heritage value.

Notable alumni

Artists, scientists, CEOs, academics and politicians (as former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jorge Castañeda Gutman and acclaimed German historian Friedrich Katz) all studied at the LFM, among many other distinguished alumni. * Arielle Dombasle :

Angélica Aragón Angélica Espinoza Stransky (born 11 July 1953), known as Angélica Aragón (), is a Mexican film, television and stage actress and singer. She is daughter of the Mexican composer José Ángel Espinoza "Ferrusquilla". She is recognized for her ...

: Jorge Castañeda Gutman :

Justo Sierra Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth ...

: Friedrich Katz :

Elena Poniatowska Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska () is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on th ...

: Daniel SanMateo : Nicole Reich de Polignac : Jorge Volpi :

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

: Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo : Anna Fusoni

References

External links

Lycée Franco-Mexicain

Lycée Franco-Mexicain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lycee Franco-Mexicain French international schools in Mexico High schools in Mexico City International schools in Mexico City Private schools in Mexico Schools in Coyoacán Buildings and structures in Morelos Cuernavaca Education in Morelos AEFE contracted schools Educational institutions established in 1937 1937 establishments in Mexico