The Lycée Fénelon is an

academic institution An 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 childre ...

located in the 6th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus 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, t ...

. It receives its name from

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, PSS (), 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 ' ...

, a French

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

(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 te ...

''. 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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

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, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

) academic programs known as ''

Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles The ''Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles'' (, ''Higher school preparatory classes'', abbr. CPGE), commonly called ''classes prépas'' or ''prépas'', are part of the French post-secondary education system. They consist of two years of s ...

'' (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'') students rank just behind Lycées Henri IV 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 French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

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

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 ...

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute (; born Natalia Ilinichna Tcherniak (); – 19 October 1999) was a French writer and lawyer. She was nominated in 1969 for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Nobel Committee member Lars Gyllensten. Personal life Sarraute wa ...

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 i ...

* Dominique Aury *

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( ; ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality, and politics have remained widely influential in cont ...

Maryse Condé Maryse Condé (née Marise Liliane Appoline Boucolon; 11 February 1934 – 2 April 2024) was a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. She was also an academic, whose teaching car ...

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

Charlotte Casiraghi Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi (born 3 August 1986) is a Monégasque model, socialite, equestrian and journalist. She is the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist. She is eleventh in ...

Jonathan Littell Jonathan Littell (born October 10, 1967) is a writer living in Barcelona. His first novel written in French, '' The Kindly Ones'' (2006; ''Les Bienveillantes''), won two major French awards, including the Prix Goncourt and the Prix de l'Académi ...

* Maxence Caron *

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, nor was she ...

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 (2003 film), The Dreamers'', directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

* Chiara Mastroianni *

Melvil Poupaud Melvil Matthias Julien Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor. Early life Poupaud was born in Paris, the son of Michel Poupaud and publicist Chantal Poupaud. He has an elder brother, Yarol, who is a musician. Career Poupaud made hi ...

* Ginette Mathiot * Denise Bonal * Juliette Benzoni * Hélène Solomon-Langevin * Geneviève Pastre * Françoise Héritier * Francesca Yvonne Caroutch * Michèle Battut * Philippe Marland *

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 candid ...

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

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

* Hakim Karoui * Jul * Gisèle Vienne *

Katell Quillévéré Katell Quillévéré (; born 30 January 1980) is a French filmmaker. Early life Quillévéré is the daughter of an IT worker and science teacher. She was born and brought up in the Ivory Coast until the age of five. She comes from a Breton fa ...

* Leïla Slimani *

Christine and the Queens Rahim Claude Redcar (sometimes shortened to Chris or Redcar; born Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier; 1 June 1988) is a French singer and songwriter, best known under the pseudonym of Christine and the Queens. Born and raised in Nantes, he started ...

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 Girls' schools in France {{France-school-stub