The Lycée Albert Premier of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

(or the Albert 1st of Monaco High School) is a prestigious public secondary school founded in 1910 in the Principality of Monaco. The school offers courses according to the curriculum prescribed by the French Directorate of National Education, Youth and Sports. It is located in

Monaco-Ville Monaco City (french: Monaco-Ville) is the southcentral ward in the Principality of Monaco. Located on a headland that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, it is nicknamed The Rock (french: Le Rocher). The name "Monaco City" is misleading: it is no ...

on the

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, site of the Visitation.

The 17th to 20th century

The main building was constructed between 1665 and 1675 as a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

for noble girls, as requested by the

Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont Catherine Charlotte de Gramont (1639 – 4 June 1678) was the Princess of Monaco by marriage to Louis I, Prince of Monaco, Louis I of Monaco. She is known to have been a Royal mistress, mistress of Louis XIV of France in 1666. Life Early lif ...

, wife of

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...

. Today, the monastery still shows vaulting from this period. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the convent was transformed into barracks for

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n troops. They occupied the buildings until 18 July 1860 when the King of Sardina's rule over the Principality ended. For the next 10 years, the buildings were vacant, until, on 31 May 1870, a group of Italian

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

began to use them to provide open college courses. This lasted until 1910.

The school of Monaco from 1910 to 1960

In Monaco, many religious schools were created after 1860, including the Ladies of Saint-Maur, a primary school that is still in use today, and the Christian Brothers College. Seeking a secular alternative to these religious schools, Albert I, an eminent scientist, founded the "School of Monaco" in September, 1910. He also founded the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco that faces the high school in the same year. The school was originally only for boys, and followed the French model. The first candidates for BA (French) graduated in 1913. However, in 1918, the school expanded to include girls.

After 1960

On the 50th anniversary of its founding,

Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling ...

renamed the school "Lycée Albert I st" to commemorate its founder. He also had a plaque placed at the schools entrance, detailing the school buildings’ various transformations. The High School Albert 1st continues to deliver courses to this day, having celebrated its centenary in 2010. Currently, one hundred faculty offer courses to 751 students. In 2022, success rate at baccalauréat was 98%.

Library Prince Albert II

The library was inaugurated by

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

. The library preserves many ancient works from private donations including a copy of the Encyclopedia of Diderot and

d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the '' Encyclopé ...

. Originally named the Prince Albert Library, the name was changed to the Prince Albert II Library during the centenary celebrations in 2010 to honor Albert II.

Famous alumni

* Léo Ferré (1916–1993) * Claude Francois (1939–1978) *

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...

(b. 1949), formerly chairman of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

* Albert II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1958) (class of 1977) * Stéphane Valeri (b. 1962) * Jean-François Robillon (b. 1962) *

Louis Ducruet Louis Robert Paul Ducruet (born 26 November 1992) is the son of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet. Early life Ducruet grew up in Monaco-Ville. His parents, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet, were married in 1995, bu ...

(b. 1992) (class of 2010) *

Pauline Ducruet Pauline Grace Maguy Ducruet (born 4 May 1994) is a Monegasque diver, designer and niece of Prince Albert II of Monaco, through her mother, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco. Early life Ducruet was born on 4 May 1994 at Princess Grace Hospital Centr ...

(b. 1994) (class of 2011) *

Charles Leclerc Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver, currently racing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in . Leclerc ...

(b. 1997)

References

''Translated from Lycée Albert-Premier in Wikipédia en français''

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110722170522/http://www.lycee-albert1er.mc/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lycee Albert Premier Educational institutions established in 1910 Schools in Monaco 1910 establishments in Monaco