The École normale supérieure (French pronunciation: [ekɔl nɔʁmal sypeʁjœʁ]; also known as Normale sup’, Normale, and ENS) is a French grande école (higher education establishment outside the framework of the public university system). The ENS was initially conceived during the French Revolution, and it was intended to provide the Republic with a new body of teachers, trained in the critical spirit and secular values of the Enlightenment. It has since developed into an elite institution which has become a platform for many of France's brightest young people to pursue high-level careers in government and academia and symbolizes the independence of mind.Founded in 1793, reorganized by Napoleon, ENS has two main sections: Sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Biology, Geology, and Medicine) and Humanities (Humanities and Social sciences: Literature, Latin and Greek, Archaeology, Philosophy, History, Geography, Law, Economy, Political sciences, Sociology, Psychology, Public Administration). ENS has a gymnasium, but no sports section. ENS has a thorough selection process consisting of written and oral examinations. Preparing for these exams requires hard work and willpower and a rigorous and methodical mind. The students excel in the fields of culture, academic research in the sciences and humanities. During their studies, ENS students hold the status of paid civil servants.The principal goal of ENS is the training of elite teachers (in secondary school, universities and preparatory classes), researchers and more broadly the elite of various public administrations. Its alumni have provided France with scores of philosophers, writers, scientists, statesmen, officials and diplomats, journalists, lawyers, directors, managers and even officers in the army and churchmen. Among them are 12 Nobel Prize laureates, 10 Fields Medalists, 1 Gauss Prize laureate, and 2 recipients of the John Bates Clark Medal in Economics, one President of French Republic (Georges Pompidou), several Prime Ministers (Leon Blum in 1936, Laurent Fabius between 1984 and 1986, Alain Juppé between 1995 and 1997), and many ministers, which is remarkable for an institution of 100 students per year.In Science, it is the "alma mater" of the French Mathematic school and one of the historic centers of French Physics. In Humanities, among its alumni are most of the so-called "French Theory" philosophers, and founders of the French Sociology school.For a long time, women were taught at a separate ENS, the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles. In 1985, after heated debate, the two were merged into a single entity with its main campus at the historic site at the rue d'Ulm in Paris.The ENS system is different from that of most higher education systems outside France, thusmaking it difficult to compare; in particular, it is much smaller than a typical English collegiate university. Nevertheless, ENS has been consistently ranked 18th to 33rd in the QS World University Rankings since their inception; in particular, it was ranked the best higher-education institution in Continental Europe in 2006 and 2007, and has remained among the top three in the same category since then.The historic Paris ENS campus is located around the rue d'Ulm, the main building being at 45 rue d'Ulm in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. The ENS-Ulm has annex campuses on Boulevard Jourdan (previously, the women's college) (48.822439°N 2.331312°E / 48.822439; 2.331312, elsewhere in Paris), and in Montrouge (a suburb; 48.820742°N 2.315180°E / 48.820742; 2.315180), as well as a biology annex in the countryside at Foljuif.Two other écoles normales supérieures were established in the 20th century: the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (sciences and humanities); and the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (pure and applied sciences, sociology, economics and management, English language) in Cachan.More recently, the fourth école normales supérieure was created on January 2014: the École Normale Supérieure de Rennes (pure and applied sciences, economics and management, law school, sport) near Rennes.All four together form the informal ENS-group.The École normale supérieure is a member of Paris Sciences et Lettres - Quartier latin, a union of five higher education institutions, all located in Paris, which aims at achieving cooperation and synergy in the academic field. The École normale supérieure cooperates in Atomium Culture, the first Permanent Platform for European Excellence that brings together some of Europe's leading universities, newspapers and businesses.
Number of students
2700
Number of undergraduate students
250
Official school colour
Yellow, Purple
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