An emanation of the Work of the same name, the Saint Louis des Français school is the oldest French institution present in Madrid, the origins of the Work dating back to the year 1613. The monk soldier Henry de Saureulx, having fled Picardy and the advent of Henry IV to take refuge in Spain, then founded in Madrid a small hospital dedicated to Saint Louis, and placed under the dual patronage of the French and Spanish sovereigns, with a hotel for French people passing through and a chapel where worship was celebrated in French.
the College, educational institution, was founded in 1856, Calle de las Tres Cruces, with the intention that its profits be donated to the hospital. Henry de Saureulx’s foundation became the Œuvre Saint Louis, chaired by the French Ambassador to Spain. Since the 1970s, Saint Louis des Français has left the center of Madrid for Pozuelo de Alarcón, in an environment of very high quality.
One school, two education systems
To be educated today in Saint Louis is therefore to be part of this history intertwined with rich and fruitful diplomatic, cultural and fraternal relations. Our establishment, in its operation and its educational project, aims to perpetuate and renew this tradition of cooperation with the youngest who will tomorrow, in turn, have the task of keeping it alive.
In Saint Louis, where an AEFE-approved section exists for Elementary School and, we hope, for Kindergarten and Middle School from September 2023, two school systems interact for the greatest benefit of students and teachers: the bilingual Spanish education system , where the teaching of mathematics, in particular, is a strong point, and where the attention paid to the convivence and well-being of the student echoes the requirement for a quality school climate in French establishments, and the French system which upholds the values of inclusion, promotes rigor of thought and promotes student involvement in school life.
This complementarity is also reflected in our educational offer, since our high school students can prepare the different specialties of Bachillerato Spanish – including the remarkable Bachillerato de Artes, and the Bachibac (French-Spanish baccalaureate). All of them having benefited from many hours of English teaching since Kindergarten, they also have the possibility of taking the Bachillerato americano (DUAL). As a result, possible further studies in Spanish-speaking, French-speaking or Anglo-Saxon countries, in particular via the EVAU (entrance examination to the Spanish University) or Parcoursupgateway to higher education in France.
Excerpts from the show Les deux Couronnes (December 16 and 17, 2022, at the Colegio)
A strong identity and creative fidelity to tradition
If it finds its roots in the values of Catholicism and tries to bring to life day by day the requirement of a fully Christian humanism, tinged with the Carmelite spirituality specific to the Institute Notre Dame de Vie, its guardianship, the educational family of Saint Louis des Français welcomes children from diverse backgrounds and all, with their specific histories, languages and cultures, participate in this adventure where everyone works for the common good and is invited to look to the future with serenity, enthusiasm and hope .
Villancico 2023
In Saint Louis des Français, Franco-Spanish history is combined with the present!