A grande école is a specialized top-level educational institution in France and some other previous French colonies such as Morocco or Tunisia. Grandes écoles are part of an alternative educational system that operates alongside the mainstream French public university system, and take the shape of institutes dedicated to teaching, research and professional training in either pure natural and social sciences, or applied sciences such as engineering, architecture, business administration, or public policy and administration.
Gate of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand, in Paris, is one of the most famous lycées providing preparatory classes for grandes écoles. (It is on the right side of the rue Saint-Jacques; on the left is the Sorbonne.)
Image: Lycée Henri IV
Image: Lycée Henri IV rue Clovis
Classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles
The classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles (CPGE), commonly called classes prépas or prépas, are part of the French post-secondary education system. They consist of two years of study which act as an intensive preparatory course with the main goal of training students for enrolment in one of the grandes écoles. The workload is one of the highest in Europe(29 to 45 contact hours a week, with up to 10 hours of guided tutorials and oral exam sessions).
Front entrance of Lycée Henri-IV, in Paris, one of the famous Lycées providing access to Grandes écoles.