The participants

Originally from France or Poland, some eight hundred students, teachers, chaplains and members of staff pass through the high school: a mixed community, diverse in terms of social and geographical origin and young in terms of civil status and mindset.

The first two headmasters were also the founders of the school. When they were deported, a teacher - and the leader of the very popular choir - took their place.

The teaching staff proved to be of a very high standard and included university lecturers, engineers and recent graduates. They were joined by Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski and Wacław Godlewski. The students benefited from an innovative, high-quality education, imbued with a patriotic spirit.

The first students were recruited by the Polish Red Cross from shelters and work camps: mainly demobilised soldiers and prison camp escapees. There were also a few children of war refugees.

It was not long before the children of pre-war emigrants, from the region and mining areas throughout France, began being sent to the school. These students sometimes had difficulty expressing themselves in Polish and gradually became the majority with the passing years.

Five chaplains succeeded one another in this school where, while spirituality is important, the Catholicism was benevolent and open to other religions and atheists.

Administration, supervision, health, management, maintenance: more than fifty people at all levels run the school and its buildings on a daily basis. Most of the key positions are held by women.

While they were not involved in the daily running of the school, they played a crucial role in its creation, organisation and funding.