The Collège Saint Joseph in Antoura,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, is the oldest French school in the Middle East. It was established in 1834 by the

Lazarist The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

priests, led by Fr. Andrew Francis. The school's current headmaster is Father Abdo Eid and its student body comprises 5500 students. Located in the valley of Antoura, the campus consists of more than eight buildings with several courts and gardens. It is accredited by the

French Ministry of Education The Ministry of National Education and Youth, or simply Ministry of National Education, as the title has changed several times in the course of the Fifth Republic, is the cabinet member in the Government of France who oversees the country's pu ...

and has the status of "école homologuée". The high school or "lycée" offers both the Lebanese and French baccalaureate programs with the possibility of a double baccalaureate program. It is classified as a French international school by the

AEFE The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (; AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (France), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the qualit ...

. The school also accommodates the oldest scouts group in

. Previously members of the

Scouts et Guides de France Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (fo ...

, the scouts and guides of Saint Joseph Antoura later joined the Scouts du Liban association when it was formed. Antoura is known for the visit of French writers

Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

and

Gerard de Nerval Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this cas ...

, who wrote about the school and the town.

History

Since 1651, local Cheikh Abou Nawfal Khazen had been requesting Jesuit fathers to establish a mission on his lands in Antoura. It wasn't until 1773 that their efforts were realized with the arrival of monks from The Lazarist order. In 1834, the apostolic delegate Monseigneur Auvergne encouraged the transformation of the mission into a teaching college. Antoura's beginnings were quite modest, in October 1834 seven students were enrolled, thus forming the first secondary Francophone school in the Middle East. Over the course of the 19th century, the college developed. In 1874, the central building was built. The Left wing opened in 1884 and the chapel was inaugurated in 1895. The symbol of the school, the tower, was built in 1904. During World War I and the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, the Lazarists were expelled by the Ottomans and the college was transformed into an orphanage where, under the direction of

Djemal Pasha Ahmed Djemal (; ; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Djemal Pasha or Cemâl Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. As an officer of the II Corps, he was ...

and

Halide Edib Adıvar Halide Edip Adıvar ( , sometimes spelled Halidé Edib in English; 11 June 1884 – 9 January 1964) was a Turkish people, Turkish novelist, teacher, and a nationalist and Feminism, feminist intellectual. She was best known for her novels criticiz ...

, about 1,000

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and 200 Kurdish children were forcefully Turkified.S.D. Hunchakian Youth Visit St. Joseph Antoura French College
. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2013 The story of the Turkification of the children during the Armenian genocide is portrayed in Goodbye, Antoura, released in English in 2015 and written by one of the children who were interned at the orphanage. College attendance saw a resurgence in 1919, counting 350 Students. In 1936, the French Academy awarded the Grand Prix of French Language to the college. In 1977, despite the Lebanese Civil War, the Kindergarten building was built. The Centre Lamartine, named after the French poet who visited the college, is a documentation center which is used by students and teachers to further their research. In 1982, the boarding school was opened. The college then counted 2,500 students. In 1996, thet chapel was restored. The Saint Joseph Sports center was opened in 2006.

Academics

The College Offers 15 years of schooling, starting with three years of pre-school ("Maternelle") and 12 years of schooling (Grade 1 to 12). The school follows the standard Lebanese program. Students in grade 9 are required to pass the Brevet examination before joining the Secondary cycle ("high school"). Students graduate after finishing the grade 12 program and then passing the Baccalaureate. They are required to select one of four concentrations: Sciences (Life or General), Sociology, Economics, and Humanities. The school also offers students the possibility of studying both the French and Lebanese Baccalaureates, in a double intensive program. The average size of the graduating class in Antoura varies typically between 200 and 250 students.

Location

The town of Antoura sits on a hill overlooking the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, at an altitude ranging between 250 and 300m above sea level. The Town is bordered by

Zouk Mikael Zouk Mikael (, also spelled Zuq Mikha'il or Zouk Mkayel) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. Its inhabitants are predominantly Melkite and Maronite Catholics. The town is well known for ...

and

Zouk Mosbeh Zouk Mosbeh (Arabic: زوق مصبح) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. It is located 12 kilometers north of Beirut. Zouk Mosbeh's average elevation is 170 meters above sea level an ...

to the west, Hrash,

Jeita The is a Japanese trade organization for the electronics and IT industries. It was formed in 2000 from two earlier organizations, the Electronic Industries Association of Japan and the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association. History ...

and Ain El Rihani to the east.

Etymology

Antoura derives from Syriac ''`aïn'' meaning "fountain" or "spring" and ''țoura'' meaning "mountain".

Notable alumni

Charles Helou Charles Helou (25 September 1913 – 7 January 2001) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 4th president of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970. Early life and education Born in Beirut on 25 September 1913, Helou was the scion of a powerful Maron ...

President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970 * Sleiman Frangieh - President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976 *

René Moawad René Anis Moawad (; 17 April 1925 – 22 November 1989) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 9th president of Lebanon for seventeen days, from 5 to 22 November 1989, before his assassination by unknown assailants. Early life and educatio ...

- President of Lebanon in 1989 (assassinated while in office) * Riad el Solh - First Lebanese Prime Minister after Lebanon's independence from France in 1943 * Sabri Hamade - Speaker of the Parliament *

Hamid Frangieh Hamid Frangieh (6 August 1907 – 5 September 1981) was a Lebanese member of the Parliament of Lebanon and held numerous ministerial positions in the Lebanese government. He was one of the Maronite leaders of Lebanon. Early life Hamid was b ...

- Politician, Minister and Member of Parliament *

Kamal Jumblatt Kamal Fouad Jumblatt (; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. He was a major ally of the Palestine Liberation Organ ...

- politician, Member of Parliament and Minister,

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

leader and founder of the

Progressive Socialist Party The Progressive Socialist Party () is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon Governorate, especially the Chouf District. Founded by Kamal Jumblatt in 1949, the party ...

* Ziad Baroud - Interior Minister 2008–2011 * Michel Elefteriades - Producer *

Ibrahim Najjar Ibrahim Najjar is a lawyer, a professor of law, a Lebanese politician and a former Justice minister (2008–2011). Early life and education Najjar was born 2 September 1941 in Tripoli, North Lebanon, and is an adherent of the Greek Orthodox Ch ...

- Justice Minister 2008–2011 *

Romeo Lahoud Romeo Raphael Lahoud (; 22 January 1931 – 22 November 2022) was a Lebanese theatre director, composer, and author. Biography After studying at the Saint Joseph School, Lahoud began his career in 1955 as an impresario, in which he brought star ...

- Director & Composer * Elias Abou Chabake - Poet *

May Ziadeh May Elias Ziadeh ( ; , ; 11 February 1886 – 17 October 1941) was a Palestinians, Palestinian-Lebanese people, Lebanese Maronite poet, essayist, and translator, who wrote many different works both in Arabic language, Arabic and in French la ...

- Poet *

Ghassan Tueni Ghassan Tueni (‎; 5 January 1926 – 8 June 2012) was a Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed '' An Nahar'', one of the Arab world's leading newspapers. Some call him "The Dean of Lebanese Journalism". Early life Born in ...

- Author, diplomat, journalist, public intellectual * Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh - One of the most prominent Iranian writers of the 20th century *

Nancy Ajram Nancy Nabil Ajram (, ; born May 16, 1983) is a Lebanese singer, television personality, and businesswoman, dubbed by Spotify as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Arab Pop". With the support of her father, she began performing ...

- Singer and Arab Music Idol * Maurice Gemayel - Politician * Liliane Tannoury - Journalist

References