Ion Luca Caragiale National College () is a high school located at 163 Calea Dorobanți, in the
Dorobanți neighborhood of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Romania. It bears the name of
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179–184 – 9 June 1912), commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale, was a Romanians, ...
, one of the greatest playwrights and writers in Romanian literature. In 1996, it was granted the title of ''National College'' by the
.
In June 2024, the Caragiale National College was ranked as the most sought-after for admission by 8th grade students in Bucharest, ahead of the
Gheorghe Lazăr
Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), was a Transylvanian Romanian scholar and the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, in 1817.
Biography
Lazăr was born to a peasant family in Felek, Szeben County, Habsb ...
,
Iulia Hasdeu
Iulia Hasdeu (; 14 November 1869 – 29 September 1888) was a Romanian poet, the daughter of writer and philologist Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and his wife Iulia Faliciu. From a very young age, Hasdeu wrote poems and prose in both Romanian languag ...
, and
George Coșbuc
George Coșbuc (; 20 September 1866 – 9 May 1918) was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy. In 19 ...
colleges;
the most sought-after specialization is in mathematics–informatics.
History
The high school was founded on October 1, 1895, as the Application School, at the initiative of
Alexandru Odobescu, director of the ''Școala Normală Superioară''. First located at 46 Calea Rahovei, the school was intended for the practical training of future teachers and professors;
its first director was Francudi Epaminonda. In 1898, the school was renamed the Application Gymnasium (affiliated with the University Pedagogical Seminary), and its director became
Constantin Dimitrescu-Iași, who held this position until 1920, when he was replaced by
Ion A. Rădulescu-Pogoneanu. In 1928, the school's name was changed to Titu Maiorescu Boys' High School.
The plot on Calea Dorobanți was purchased in 1921, and the first floor of the present building was completed in January 1929. For a few years, the location was occupied by the
Mihai Eminescu High School. Construction resumed in 1933; the second floor was completed in 1943, and the other two in 1947, when the courtyard was also expanded. In 1948, the new
communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
changed the institution's name to Boys' High School No. 7; after merging with the Girls' High School No. 12 in 1948, the school was renamed in 1954 as "I.L. Caragiale" Mixed Secondary School No. 7. In 1974–1977, an addition was built, facing Dorobanți Plaza. From 1978 to 1989, the school functioned as an industrial high school, but after the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
of 1989, it became again a theoretical high school.
Students
The Ion Luca Caragiale National College is an institution of
lower secondary (
gymnasium) and
upper secondary public education
A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
. There is a single section (A) for each of grades 5 to 8, and there are 10 sections (A to J) for each of grades 9 to 12:
In 2024, the admission score into grade 9 was 8.87/10 (9.40–9.60 for Mathematics–Informatics) and the graduation rate was 99.3%. Also that year, 297 students took the
Baccalaureate, obtaining an average score of 8.99/10 (ranked 75th nationally).
At the 2024 evaluation of all Romanian secondary schools, the Ion Luca Caragiale National College came in 10th place, with a score of 9.46/10.
In April 2025, a team of Caragiale students won the first prize at the international Space Settlement Contest organized by the U.S.
National Space Society
The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Co ...
.
Facilities
The school buildings cover an area of . This space houses 30 classrooms, 18 IT labs, 12 laboratories, and 2 gyms. There is also a library with 44,000 volumes, a modern reading room, a chapel, a choir room with two pianos, a greenhouse, and a hall for festivities. The outdoor sports base includes 2 basketball courts, a handball court, a 50 m running track, a long jump pit, and endurance running track.
Principals
Notable faculty and alumni
Faculty
Alumni
References
External links
*
{{Gallery
, File:Ion Luca Caragiale National College at night.png, Front entrance, on Calea Dorobanți
, File:Ion Luca Caragiale National College in Bucharest (5).jpg, The school viewed from Roma Street
High schools in Bucharest
National Colleges in Romania
1895 establishments in Romania
Educational institutions established in 1895
School buildings completed in 1947