Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry, Lyon

The Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry is a school group located in Lyon’s 4th arrondissement, on the plateau of the La Croix-Rousse hill. It brings together a public middle school, which accommodates about 520 students, and a public high school, which accommodates about 800 students. The high school first opened in 1963.

The site was originally intended in the 1930s to enlarge the boys’ school lycée Neyret, but the project was delayed by the Second World War. In 1955, the chosen site was on a gardener’s land on rue Hénon. Construction began in 1960 under mayor Louis Pradel, with architects Jacques Perrin-Fayolle, Alain Chomel, and C. Dambrun. The buildings are arranged in an L shape and include administration spaces, a school restaurant, and classrooms. A nuclear bomb shelter was built in the basement during the Cold War. The school was later extended, rehabilitated between 2007 and 2011, and marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2013.

Map showing the location of Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in Lyon — Location of **Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry** in Lyon

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School Group on the La Croix-Rousse Plateau

The Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry is a school group in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, on the plateau of the La Croix-Rousse hill. It includes a public middle school and a public high school. The middle school accommodates approximately 520 students, while the high school serves about 800 students. The high school first opened in 1963.

Construction and later transformations

The Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupery was first envisioned in the 1930s as an enlargement of the boys' school lycee Neyret in the 3rd arrondissement, under the municipal initiative of Edouard Herriot. This expansion was postponed because of the Second World War. A site was later selected in 1955 on a gardener's land on rue Henon, also in the 3rd arrondissement. Construction began in 1960 under mayor Louis Pradel, with architects Jacques Perrin-Fayolle, Alain Chomel, and C. Dambrun, and the school received its first students in September 1963 while finishing work was still underway, after eighteen months of construction.

The buildings are arranged in an L shape and include the administration, a school restaurant, and classrooms. The site also includes a nuclear bomb shelter in the basement, built during the Cold War. This shelter was criticized by the communist student union UNCAL for political reasons.

The school was modified several times after its opening. An extension project carried out from 2002 to 2003 added a new school restaurant section. A full rehabilitation took place between 2007 and 2011, led by Atelier Arche architects and financed with a 24.6 million euro budget. This work included green roofs and a rainwater recovery system for watering the courtyard garden. In 2013, the school marked its fiftieth anniversary with former teachers and alumni, and an exhibition and retrospective film presented its history.

Recent Administrative Changes and Campus Expansion

The Cite scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupery has experienced several administrative changes in recent years. Michel Bastrenta served as headmaster from 2004 and was later succeeded by Claire Batailler in 2015. Bastrenta, who is a Knight of the Legion of Honor, later began working at the Academic Delegation for Arts and Culture, DAAC. In January 2020, Claude Di Liberatore replaced Nora Frahi as deputy headmaster. The site also saw physical changes linked to access and capacity: the region created an access foyer at the main gate in September 2020, and in 2021 two modular buildings with four additional classrooms were installed in the courtyard because of a lack of space. In September 2023, Olivier Coutarel succeeded Claire Batailler as headmaster.

Educational Offer and School Structure

The Cité scolaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry provides education from sixth grade to the final year, with teaching delivered by approximately an unspecified number of teachers in 2021. Its middle school includes an unspecified number of students across 12 divisions, with an average of thirty students per division. The school also includes a ULIS section for localized school inclusion.

At the upper secondary level, the institution prepares students for the general baccalaureate with specialties in English MC, mathematics, physics, SVT, SES, music, visual arts, theater, HGGSP, HLP, and NSI. It also prepares students for a technological baccalaureate in management and business technologies or music and dance techniques. Language teaching includes English and German as LV1 or LV2, Italian, Spanish as LV2, and optional Chinese as LV3, as well as Latin and Greek. The school offers European sections in English or German, combining three hours of language study with one hour of non-linguistic discipline. The school no longer hosts CHAM classes.

Student Representation and School Governance

The establishment includes a conseil des delegues pour la vie lyceenne (CVL) and a conseil de la vie collegienne (CVC). Members of both bodies are elected by all students. The vice-president of the CVL is elected by all class delegates, and the Proviseur chairs the CVL by right. In addition, the Proviseur convenes an assembly of class delegates at least twice a year. Class delegates also elect student representatives to the conseil d'administration from among the members of the CVL.

Student Life and Civic Engagement

At Vie de l'etablissement, student life is structured around the CVL and the Maison des lyceens (MDL), a student association that plays a central role in school activities. The CVL organizes the semaines de la solidarite, carries out paper recycling, and works to obtain decent hygiene conditions for all students. The MDL organizes the Sidaction week, including a charity concert led by the music option and TMD classes, as well as the Saint-Ex carnival and the end-of-year ball. It also manages the sale of pastries during breaks and oversees the participatory student newspaper Le Petit Prince.

The school also carries out solidarity actions beyond its internal associations. It collects food for the Banque alimentaire du Rhone and organizes donations for the Croix-Rouge. Vie de l'etablissement hosts local branches of Amnesty International and Youth for Climate, reflecting the presence of civic and environmental engagement within the school community. Since 2018, the CVL and MDL have also organized an end-of-year gala called All In Saint Ex.

Alongside these activities, students take part in national academic competitions such as the concours general des lycees, the Olympiades de mathematiques, the Olympiades des geosciences, and the Olympiades de physique. A team from the school won a first prize in the Olympiades de physique in 2017.

Academic Results and Rankings

The school has recorded notable academic results over time. In 1976, two students received runner-up prizes at the Concours General. In 2018, a female student achieved the highest score in the Academy at the baccalaureate, with an average of 20.68. In later rankings, the school placed 12th out of 23 in the Academy of Lyon, 11th out of 73 high schools in the Rhone department, and 567th out of 1801 in France. It was also ranked 99th in the list of the 100 best high schools in France published by Le Parisien.