Linternaute.com unveils its ranking of the best high schools in France this Wednesday. And the observation is even stronger this year: outside of Paris and Ile-de-France, establishments are struggling to place themselves in the top 20.
This Wednesday, March 20, Linternaute.com unveils its ranking of the best high schools in France, based on data from the Ministry of National Education. “High school results indicators” communicated each year by rue de Grenelle several months after the baccalaureate results. And by dissecting this data just revealed by the ministry for the last baccalaureate sessions, the observation is the same as in previous years, even more obvious this year: Paris and its periphery overwhelmingly dominate the list. Among the top ten high schools in the country, there are seven Parisian high schools and three high schools in the inner suburbs, located respectively in Rueil Malmaison, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Asnières-sur-Seine. It is the same, up to twentieth place, where the best high schools are all located in the capital or in the greater Parisian suburbs.
Where have the very good high schools outside Ile-de-France gone? Last year, three establishments located in other regions managed to place themselves in the top 20. The Lycée de Provence in Marseille, the Lycée Gymnase Jean Sturm in Strasbourg and the Lycée Don Bosco, located in the city of 1500 residents of Landser (68), were tied for sixteenth place. In the 2024 ranking, they have all disappeared.
The Marseille high school and the Strasbourg high school both find themselves in 28th position, with a 100% success rate, a 97% mention rate and an access rate for seconds to the baccalaureate of 92%, for a grade total of 19.5, or 0.1 point less than last year. For the private Don Bosco high school, the fall is much greater since it finds itself 62nd. In terms of statistics, the success rate is 100%, the mention rate is 93% and the access rate for seconds to the baccalaureate is 92%. The establishment’s final score is 19.25 compared to 19.6 last year. The mention rate notably fell by five points.
This year, the best high school outside Ile-de-France is finally in 24th place. A high school which was only 47th last year. In the new ranking, it still has a 100% success rate, but has gone from 95% to 99% mention rate. This is the Lacordaire private high school in Marseille, part of the Aix-Marseille academy. The latter, which presented 227 students for the baccalaureate in 2023, offers the learning of a multitude of languages such as Italian, Chinese and Corsican. It is also possible to have two sections: theater and arts. Its good grade is also linked to its ability to take a large majority of its second year students (92%) to the final diploma.
After this, we find in the ranking two Parisian high schools and one Versailles establishment. Next come the Lycée de Provence and the Gymnase Jean Sturm which are both, like the Lycée Lacordaire, private establishments. Looking at the ranking as a whole, less than half of the best high schools with a 100% baccalaureate success rate are located outside Ile-de-France.