Lycée Sisowath ( km, វិទ្យាល័យព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ; also Sisowath High School) is a secondary school in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège (middle school) and became a lycée (middle and high school) in 1933. It is named after

King Sisowath Sisowath ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ, ; 7 September 1840 – 9 August 1927) was King of Cambodia from 27 April 1904 to his death in 1927. He was the son of King Ang Duong and half brother of Prince Si Votha and King Norodom. He is the ...

History

Under the initiative of François Fontaine, the first "modern" Franco-Cambodian school was established in the year 1873. It was the French-language ''School of the Protectorate'', in Phnom Penh. The School of the Protectorate was renamed ''Collège of the Protectorate'' in 1893 and then ''Collège Sisowath'' in 1905. The Collège prepared students for service in the French colonial administration, the judiciary and the indigenous administration. During the French Protectorate, the school was heavily dominated by Vietnamese immigrant children. In 1933, the Collège Sisowath became the ''Lycée Preah Sisowath''. In 1935,

Son Ngoc Thanh Sơn Ngọc Thành ( km, សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់; 7 December 1908 – 8 August 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister. Early li ...

founded the ''Association des amis du Lycée Sisowath'', Cambodia's first alumni association, which would become an agora of discussion and promotion of the national sentiment. The first Cambodian students graduated from the Lycée Sisowath with

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

s in 1939. In the 1940s, the headmaster of the school was Chhean Vam, the husband of Thiounn Choeum of the

Thiounn Somdach Veang Thiounn ( km, ឧកញ៉ា វ៉ាង ជួន, Oknha Veang Thiounn) was a Cambodian state official during the French protectorate of Cambodia who had a lasting influence on Khmer historiography through the Cambodian Royal Ch ...

family. Only 144 Cambodians had completed the full baccalauréat by 1954. The Ministry of Education took measures to use the

Khmer language Khmer (; , ) is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khmer people, and the Official language, official and national language of Cambodia. Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pāli, Pali, especiall ...

at all education levels including Lycée Sisowath beginning in 1967. During the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

, the school was renamed twice: first to ''Lycée du 9 octobre'' in 1970, after the date of the declaration of the republic by the

Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ ...

regime, then to ''Phnom Daun Penh High School'' in 1974. Under the Pol Pot regime, the high school was closed and used as an army warehouse. The teachers, staff, and students were forced to leave the city and live in undeveloped areas, where they greatly suffered from the killings perpetrated. After the January 7, 1979, Vietnamese invasion, the government of the

People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the Kamp ...

gradually reopened schools. The lycée was officially reopened on January 21, 1980, under the name of Phnom Daun Penh High School. School personnel requested the ministry of education to change the high school name to its original name of Lycée Preah Sisowath in 1993 to preserve this historic endowment. In 1996, a Franco-Khmer section was reintroduced again at the Lycée Sisowath.

Campus

Lycée Sisowath occupies a lot bordering

Norodom Boulevard Norodom Boulevard ( km, មហាវិថីព្រះនរោត្តម), also called Street 41 ( km, ផ្លូវលេខ៤១, link=no), is a major boulevard in Cambodia and one of Phnom Penh's oldest arterial roads. It was named af ...

donated by

in 1905. The school has eight buildings and one administration center which retains its original French-influenced appearance. There is one football field, two volleyball fields and three basketball fields.

Curriculum

There are three special classes () are selected upon written tests: Khmer literature, mathematics and physics.

Notable alumni

*Hou Youn *

Ieng Sary Ieng Sary ( km, អៀង សារី; 24 October 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a Cambodian politician who was the co-founder and senior member of the Khmer Rouge. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea le ...

Ieng Thirith Ieng Thirith (née Khieu; km, អៀង ធីរិទ្ធ; 10 March 1932 – 22 August 2015) was an influential intellectual and politician in the Khmer Rouge, although she was neither a member of the Khmer Rouge Standing Committee nor of ...

(born Khieu Thirith) * Kaing Guek *

Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan ( km, ខៀវ សំផន; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as ...

Khieu Ponnary Khieu Ponnary ( km, ខៀវ ពណ្ណារី, 3 February 1920 – 1 July 2003) was the first wife of Pol Pot, sister of Khieu Thirith and sister-in-law to Ieng Sary. Biography Khieu Ponnary was born on 3 February 1920 in Battambang Pro ...

Nguyen Thi Binh Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

* Norodom Monineath Sihanouk *

Norodom Yuvaneath Norodom ( km, នរោត្តម, ; born Ang Voddey ( km, អង្គវតី, ); 3 February 1834 – 24 April 1904) was King of Cambodia from 19 October 1860 to his death on 24 April 1904. He was the eldest son of King Ang Duong and wa ...

Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...

Sam Rainsy Sam Rainsy ( km, សម រង្ស៊ី, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia Nation ...

Nhiek Tioulong Nhiek Tioulong ( km, ញឹក ជូឡុង; 23 August 1908 – 9 June 1996) was a Cambodian army officer, politician, and actor who served as Acting Prime Minister of Cambodia from 13 February 1962 to 6 August 1962. He was a prominent politi ...

References

External links

Lycée Sisowath Alumni and Friends of Lycée Sisowath
{{Phnom Penh Educational institutions established in 1933 Schools in Phnom Penh 1933 establishments in Cambodia