Collège Stanislas de Paris

Collège Stanislas de Paris
The building preparatory classes courtyard side
Address
22 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs Paris, 75006 France
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Founded	1804 (1804)
Enrolment	3369
Website	www.stanislas.fr (French)

The Collège Stanislas de Paris (French pronunciation: ​[lə kɔlɛːʒ stanislas də paʁi], in English: the "Stanislas High School in Paris") is a private Catholic school in Paris, situated on "Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs" in the 6th arrondissement. It has approximately 3,000 students, from preschool to classes préparatoires (classes to prepare students for entrance to the elite Grandes écoles such as Ecole Polytechnique, Centrale Paris, ESSEC Business school or HEC Paris), and is the largest private school in France. Stanislas is one of the most prestigious French schools (3rd in 2011).

Founded in 1804 by Father Claude Liautard, the Collège has both traditional buildings and modern constructions. Under contract with the French government, it offers curricula identical to those of public education, also offering religious education on specific days - originally Wednesdays, since the Jules Ferry Laws of 1882, but now Saturdays. In 1822, its formal name was declared, after the Polish King Stanisław Leszczyński, the great-grandfather of the King of France Louis XVIII, whose second forename was "Stanislas".

Since 1903 Collège has been the property of a S.A. corporation founded by former alumni. As of 2002, the school's director is Daniel Chapellier.

Private education in France was indirectly, yet deeply, affected by the strong anti-clerical movement that inspired French politicians throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, beginning with the Concordat of 1801. As a result, the Collège almost disappeared but ultimately was kept open by the efforts of former alumni. Even today, it remains isolated from Paris' foremost public Lycées, although Stanislas' "Classes Préparatoires" ultimately leads its students to the same Grandes Écoles as its rivals.