Versailles, France
‘Ginette’ – Lycée
Sainte-Geneviève
Preparatory Classes to Scientific and Business High Schools
‘Ginette’ is the nickname of Lycée Sainte-Geneviève. Situated in Versailles, 20 km west of Paris, ‘Ginette’ is a boarding school for about 800 students, male and female. They come from various countries: France, of course, but also from all over Europe, from Tunisia, Morocco, the Near-East, from China and from the United States. All students will have passed their Baccalauréat (equivalent to A-levels) in science before they arrive at ‘Ginette’. The academic standards of the preparatory classes are very high and demanding, especially in mathematics, physics and biology. Students stay on average two years at ‘Ginette’, during which they work hard in order to prepare themselves to take the highly competitive exams which they must pass before entering high schools such as Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Centrale de Paris, Hautes Etudes Commerciales, or Institut National d’Agronomie.
‘Ginette’ was founded in Paris in 1854 by the Jesuits. Religious orders, however, were forbidden to teach in France at the end of the 19th Century. Due to the 1905 Law of Sepration between the Church and the State, the school was forced to leave Paris and it happened to come to Versailles in 1913. Since then the school has kept its Jesuit character and since 2000 it has been directed by Mrs Isabel Jubin, a lay woman. At present, five Jesuits are still active in the school: one is a Student Prefect, one is a teacher in mathematics, two are chaplains, one is doing his Regency period. They are part of the staff that includes 70 teachers and 135 employees. A community of 10 Jesuits also live on the campus.
Preparatory classes to scientific and business high schools are specific to the French high school system. For more information on the many opportunities that are offered to the students at ‘Ginette’ with respect to their work but also with respect to their daily life go to www.bginette.com.