Our Sister School- Le Collège et Lycée Saint-Louis

At face value, Le Collège et Lycée Saint-Louis is very, very different from MHS. First, the “collège” is the middle school and the “lycée” is the high school. The two levels serve approximately 900 students from throughout the region as many students travel from neighboring towns to attend the school. There are also another 24 students studying in a special post-secondary program in technology and communication.

Saint-Louis is private Catholic school spread out in five different buildings on a sprawling campus. Though it is a Catholic school, it does not have the feel of what we commonly associate with a parochial school. Students do not wear uniforms nor do they have to take mandatory courses in Catholic religious education. Parents pay only 400 Euro (approximately $600) for a year’s tuition. The school is clearly college preparatory in its mission as the overwhelming majority of graduates go on to study at a university. It also stands out as a contrast to Châteaulin’s public secondary school, which is smaller and has more of a career and technical emphasis, particularly in agricultural science.

Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:25 pm. This sounds like a long day, however the pace is very child-centered, and dare I say, sane. All students have 90 minutes for lunch and 20-minute breaks are built into the morning and afternoon sessions. During these breaks the younger students play outdoors and the older students congregate. All students have schedules that are akin to a schedule a student may have in college, where not all classes meet daily. Students must take scheduled one-hour classes in all core academic areas, English, the arts, and technology. Lycée students may also access German or Spanish as a foreign language. Interestingly enough, the sports teams (soccer, swimming, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics) practice during the school day as their time is built into the schedule, not after school.

The class sizes vary. Some, particularly in the college, are very large as I observed over 30 students in one class. I also observed very reasonable ones in the range of 20 in the lycée. The interesting piece is that the students do not change classrooms throughout the day- the teachers do. Thus, the same cohort of students stays together all day in the same classroom, much like we do in the US with elementary school students. The teachers move in and out of classrooms based upon their schedules. It should also be noted that the typical teacher schedule involves teaching two classes per day. Time for planning, professional development, and parent conferences is built into teacher schedules and is highly valued.

12-year old students in the collège during an English class. (And yes, they stood for me when I entered the room...)


Despite these many structural differences… kids are kids! Monsieur Benoit, Madame Gildersleeve, and I have heard the same joys and challenges of teaching from the Saint-Louis teachers that we hear back home. Pride over the student who works hard and achieves at the highest level. Finding new ways to use technology so students may be effective communicators and problem-solvers. Frustration over students who are apathetic and don’t follow through on completing assignments. Students who are incessantly tardy. In that regard we are the same and share a common bond with our sister school!

Above is the student library of Saint-Louis.

The gymasium/field house of Saint-Louis. It is used for both students and community members for sports such as soccer, basketball, and gymnastics.

Châteaulin: Rich In History and Culture

The center of Châteaulin, as seen from the mayor's office.

The town where our exchange school, Le Collège et Lycée Saint-Louis, is located in Châteaulin. Located about 30 km north from the Brittany city of Quimper, the town is only about a half hour drive from the west coast of France. Nestled in between hills, the town is absolutely picturesque as the center is a typical French village, filled with shops, cafes, and restaurants constructed from stone in the 18th and 19th century. The narrow Aulne River cuts through the center of town, separating the north and south ends. This river used to be a vital part of the community, as salmon fishing was the major industry. However, in the past 30 years the salmon population has greatly dwindled, perhaps due to the increased use of fertilizers by farmers. As a result, there are less Châteaulin fishermen and the overall population of the community has dropped from 10,000 to under 6,000 residents.

As there are very few roads throughout the town, there are no “neighborhoods” per se. Other than the center of town, the community very much has a rural feel, as farms are plentiful. Nonethless, many of the conveniences of modern life, such as a supermarket, exist within the town.

On Tuesday the Mayor of Châteaulin, Gaëlle Nicolas (referred to as “Madame Le Maire”) held a formal reception for the MHS and St-Louis exchange students at City Hall. At the reception Madame Le Maire shared a bit of the history of the town and stressed how important Le Collège et Lycée Saint-Louis is to the community. In fact, all three of her children have attended or are attending the school and her daughter will be one of the students coming to Mansfield in October.



The view of Châteaulin from our exchange school, Le Collège et Lycée Saint-Louis.