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Origin and history

The boarding school of the high school of young girls, now high school Marguerite of Navarre in Bourges, was built between 1950 and 1952 by architect Jacques Barge. This project is part of the medical program of the Ministry of National Education ( 1949 instructions), aimed at combining economy, comfort and modernity. The building, designed as an architectural prototype, uses prefabrication techniques in reinforced concrete and a simple frame, while integrating rigorous aesthetic principles: marked geometry, full and empty sets, and carved or picked stone facades.

The decoration of the boarding school reflects an educational and artistic will. The professors of the École des Arts Appliqués de Bourges, under the direction of the architect and director Yvonne Cordillot, decorated the premises with 41 terracotta medallions made by the ceramicists Jean and Jacqueline Lerat. These medallions represent illustrious women of French history. A canvas by Henri Malvaux, Young women in an orchard, and a sculpture by Marcel Gili, L.

Originally a college, the school became a high school in 1921, before being renamed Marguerite-de-Navarre high school in 1964, in tribute to the sister of François I, literary figure of the Renaissance. The proposed initial name, Berthe Morisot, was rejected by the Education Council. The boarding school, registered with the historical monuments in 2001, illustrates the architectural innovation of the post-war period, mixing functionality (comb plan for optimal monitoring) and symbolism (celebration of women in public space).

The high school, located on Rue de Vauvert near the city centre and the Berry Canal, is today distinguished by its rare language options (Chinese, Russian, Italian) and its various channels, including a BTS communication. It hosts approximately 1,040 students (2023-2024) and continues a cultural tradition with the Margot Festival, an annual event organized by high school students. The establishment also maintains a link with its history by hosting a room named in tribute to Simone Weil, former professor.

Among the notable former students and teachers are philosopher Simone Weil, lawyer Christophe Carpe, or former MP Yann Galut. The architecture of the boarding school, with its references to antiquity and the Renaissance, embodies a synthesis between technical modernity and cultural heritage, while responding to the social stakes of women's education in France of the Thirty Glorious.

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