Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Lamartine High School, originally called Belley College, was founded by letters patent in 1753 and completed in 1764. Confeded to the Antonins until 1790, then briefly to the Josephists, he was taken over in 1803 by the Fathers of the Faith, a congregation inspired by the Jesuits. Alphonse de Lamartine studied there between 1803 and 1808, when the establishment was run by this religious community.

In 1808 Napoleon closed the college, which later became a small diocesan seminary under the aegis of Bishop Devie in 1823. The establishment retained a dual character: college for the outsiders and seminary for future priests. It was renamed Lamartine High School in 1906. Today, it includes a college, a general and vocational high school, and a boarding school in a partially classified historic park.

The building, which has been listed as historic monuments since 1981 for its facades, roofs and wrought iron staircases, bears witness to 18th and 19th century architecture. His famous students include generals, doctors, writers like Lamartine, and political figures. The establishment is dependent on the Lyon Academy and remains managed by the diocesan guardianship.

The illustrious teachers include saints such as Pierre Chanel or Pierre-Julien Eymard, founders of religious congregations. The high school maintains a marked educational and spiritual heritage, while adapting to modern requirements, with a graduation rate of 98.65% in 2019.

Ranked 12th at the departmental level in 2022, Lamartine High School combines tradition and academic performance. Its park and historic buildings, combining old structures and recent extensions (1998), make it an emblematic place of Belley, in the Ain, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

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