When the French Revolution closed the doors of the convent schools it brought the end of educational institutions for girls. Only a few exclusive schools were available to girls at the beginning of the First Empire. Napoleon was aware of this lack and on 15 December 1805, in Schönbrunn, signed the decree which established “lay schools for daughters of the members of the Legion of Honour.” They were located in the Ecouen Château in 1807 and in the ancient abbey of Saint Denis in 1809.
Today the boarding schools are state establishments under the authority of the Grand Chancellor. The girls enrolled have a direct ascendant who is a holder of either the Legion of Honour, the Order of Merit or of the Military Medal. Students wear a uniform with a coloured belt that is a heritage of the First Empire – the colour of the belt changes with each grade.
There are about 1,000 students divided between the “collège” situated in the former convent of the Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (once a home for orphans established in 1810) and the “lycée” in Saint-Denis.