Lycee Sisowath
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| Lycée Preah Sisowath | |
| Address | |
|---|---|
| Norodom Boulevard 12210 Phnom Penh,  Cambodia |
|
| Information | |
| Founder | Mr. Francois Fontaine |
| Principal | Mr. Seng Lime |
| Campus size | 4 hectares (9.9 acres) |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Established | 1933 (as a lycée) |
Lycée Preah Sisowath is a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège (middle school) and became a lycée (middle and high school) in 1933.
Contents |
[edit] History
Under the initiative of Mr. Francois Fontaine, the first "modern" Franco-Cambodian school was established in 1873. It was the French-language School of the Protectorate, in Phnom Penh. The School of the Protectorate was renamed Collège of the Protectorate in 1893 and then Collège Sisowath in 1905. The Collège prepared students for service in the French colonial administration and the judiciary and the indigenous administration. During the French Protectorate, the school was heavily dominated by Vietnamese immigrant children.
In 1933, the Collège Sisowath became the Lycée Preah Sisowath. The first Cambodian students graduated from the Lycée Sisowath with baccalauréats in 1939. Only 144 Cambodians had completed the full baccalauréat by 1954. The Ministry of Education took measures to use the Khmer language in all education levels including Lycée Sisowath beginning in 1967.
During the Khmer Republic, the school was renamed twice: first to Lycée October 9 in 1970, after the date the declaration of the republic by the Lon Nol regime, then to Phnom Daun Penh High School in 1974. Under the Pol Pot regime, the high school was closed and used as an army warehouse. The teachers, staff, and students were forced out of the city and had to go live in undeveloped areas where they greatly suffered from the killings perpetrated.
After the January 7, 1979 Vietnamese invasion, the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea reopened all teaching institutions. The lycée was officially reopened on January 21, 1980 under the name of Phnom Daun Penh High School. School personnel requested the ministry of education to change the high school name to its original name of Lycée Preah Sisowath in 1993 to preserve this historic endowment.
In 1996, franco-khmère section was reintroduced again at Lycée Sisowath.
[edit] Campus
Lycée Sisowath occupies a 4 hectares (9.9 acres) lot bordering Norodom Boulevard donated by King Sisowath in 1905. The school has eight buildings and one administration center which retains its original French-influenced appearance.
[edit] Curriculum
- See also: Secondary education in France
There are three special classes are selected upon written tests: Khmer literature, mathematics and physics.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Ieng Sary [1]
- Ieng Thirith (born Khieu Thirith)
- Khieu Ponnary [2]
- Nguyen Thi Binh
- Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
- Norodom Yuvaneath
- Pol Pot
[edit] References
- ^ Phann Ana and Kevin Doyle. "Retired Ideals", The Cambodia Daily, 2002-10-05.
- ^ Becker, Elizabeth. "Khieu Ponnary, 83, First Wife Of Pol Pot, Cambodian Despot", The New York Times, 2003-07-03. "She attended the elite Lycee Sisowath in Phnom Penh where in 1940 she became the first Cambodian woman to earn a baccalaureate degree."
