Royal colleges and private institutions
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In 1823, Évariste Galois entered the quatrième class (roughly eighth grade) as a boarder at the Collège royal Louis-Le-Grand in Paris. These colleges, which temporarily replaced the Napoleonic lycées, included the lower grades and continued through the final year of high school. Their teachers had passed the agrégation (French competitive teaching examination). Less prestigious were the municipal colleges, which often did not offer the final year. At the time, secondary education was fee-paying. A system of merit-based scholarships was established for those of lesser means.
There were also private institutions, generally run by graduates of the École normale and employing tutors responsible for preparing students for higher-education entrance examinations. These examinations were then mostly oral, and many involved reciting memorized material. Private institutions were therefore highly successful, as they prepared students better than the overcrowded royal colleges did.
The place of mathematics
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