Lycée Saint-Louis

The lycée Saint-Louis is a higher education establishment located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE, the preparatory classes for the Grandes Écoles such as Ecole Polytechnique, Centrale Paris, ESSEC Business School or HEC Paris). It is known for the quality of its teaching and the results it achieves in their intensely competitive entrance examinations (concours).

History: the Collège d'Harcourt

Until 1820, the lycée Saint-Louis was named Collège d'Harcourt. At the time of its founding it was meant to be a residence for students of the University of Paris. The latter was founded in 1280 by Robert and Raoul d'Harcourt to offer food and lodgings to some forty impoverished students. It was not originally a teaching establishment, but this became an increasingly important part of its function over the years.

In the 18th century, it was a stronghold of Jansenists and produced several of the philosophes and Encyclopédistes.