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Lycée Lakanal: Kadic Academy's model
| | | Lycée Lakanal: real-life source of inspiration for Kadic Academy
The school in our favourite cartoon is named as homage to Philip K. Dick, a famous American science-fiction writer.
But does the school really exist in real life? The answer is yes and no.
Indeed, no school named Kadic Academy (or Collège Kadic as it's known in French) exists in France. But the school our 4 heroes attend is (very) largely inspired by Collège/Lycée Lakanal (Lakanal High School), located in Sceaux, in Paris.
[Geographical location] [Let your eyes do the talking] [Dede7's report on Lycée Lakanal] [Photos to download] | | |
|  | Sceaux, the city where Collège/Lycée Lakanal is found:
Location of the school:
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 | Let your eyes do the talking | |
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The resemblance is equally striking in the photos
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| Dede7's report on Lycée Lakanal | |
| | 0. Introduction
Salutations, Lyokofans, and welcome to this new file! Whether you've been following this series since it started so many years ago, or if you've only discovered it recently, you'll surely know that the action in Code Lyoko mainly takes place around two major locations: the abandoned factory and Kadic Academy. And, just like the former is largely inspired by the old Renault factory on the Île Seguin, the latter is also a relatively close copy of a real-life location...
The main entry gate
Indeed, Collège/Lycée Lakanal, located in Sceaux, in the south of Paris, is undoubtedly the model that was used to draw Kadic Academy, as evidenced by the montage above, combining a snapshot from real life and an image from the series. Is Kadic really a copy of Lakanal? Find out in this file dedicated to the establishment.
1. Overview
Lakanal is a large school founded in Sceaux, in the Hauts-de-Seine, in 1885.
The establishment is a combination of a junior high school, a general senior high school, as well as several preparatory classes for Grandes Ecoles (CPGE) that are highly classed by French educational institutions in scientific, economic and literary tracks.
It's easy to get there using the RER B (a rapid transit system), by going down to the Bourg-la-Reine station and walking a few minutes towards the park in Sceaux.
Portion of the surrounding wall in the east part of the park
A wall over 1500 metres (4921ft) long surrounds a building of dormitories to which several classroom wings are attached, as well as a gymnasium, a multipurpose sports field, library, science building and a large, wooded park ten hectares (24.7 acres) in size.
Shot of the main entrance
2. Studying at Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal offers three distinct levels of education: junior high school (collège: from year 6 to year 9), senior high school (lycée: from year 10 to year 12) and preparatory classes (first and second years after the baccalaureate). Each of these sections has its own quadrangle, around which most classes are usually taught, except of course for science and sports classes. The classrooms are distributed along the ground floors of the main buildings and in the wings, while the science building is a little further away (see annotated map below by clicking the image).
From left to right: the dormitory, the classroom wings, the sports installations and the park
Click the image to enlarge
As such the three teaching wings are physically distinguishable from one another, but not partitioned: the students can freely move throughout the whole place, the quadrangles linked by passages under arches that join the wings of the main building.
The arches link the quadrangles together, seen here from the junior high school quadrangle
The passage linking the administration building to the main building, seen from the junior high school quadrangle
The junior and senior high schools offer general scientific, economic and literary training. Note the existence of a Rugby Hope Area in the senior high school: rugby being tightly linked to Lakanal for decades, the high school recruits high-level sport players from around the country and offer them an adapted schooling programme (with reserved dormitory rooms). We also note the existence of the engineering science option, available to science-oriented year 11 and 12 students, a subject that initiates students into the domains of electronics, mechanics and information technology, as engineering training. It's a very rare option in France: many students don't even know it exists.
The science building
As for preparatory classes for Grand Ecoles, they have literary, economical and scientific ones. The establishment is very highly rated, in fact, it is very selective. Only the students, or rather, at this level, these students can benefit from dormitory rooms (as well as the rugby-playing high school students).
3. Living at Lakanal
The kiosk sheltering the coffee machine in the junior high quadrangle
Originally, in 1885, Lakanal was founded to be a sort of "country boarding school". The idea was pitched to studious and restful students to allow them to carry out their studies peacefully and efficiently. Even today, this ambience is assured, and notably thanks to the park.
A remote corner of the small "Lakanal Forest"
The wooded park at Lakanal covers ten hectares (24.7 acres) of ground, and includes more than 380 varieties of trees. It's a relaxing place, shaded and calm, that takes you far away from the stress of studying and the oppression of the city that surrounds the place. The large Sceaux Park is adjoined to it, a very well-kept green space not far from Lakanal.
The main building seen from Claude Perrault Avenue
Of the no less than 2500 students attending Lakanal, all sections included, a certain number of students taking preparatory classes benefit from the dormitory. There are two to three students per room in the first year, and can choose an individual room in the second year. The dormitory is overseen by a team of teachers who stay away to ensure a calm and studious environment in the hallways of the establishment, even in the late hours of the night.
The cafeteria in the junior quadrangle
The students' half-board (as well as morning and evening meals for "preparatory" boarders) seem assured by two cafeterias: the one we know very well, the two small buildings that look like demountables situated in the junior high quadrangle (which doesn't appear in the same place as it does in the series, not even the same quadrangle), but there also seems to be a restaurant-like room, on the ground floor of the technical wing of the main building.
0. Sources
This file wasn't made alone, nor without external help. Initiated by Shaka and edited by Dede7, it's illustrated by Dede7's photographs, as well as some images taken from Google Earth. As for the information delivered, they're based on other information on Lakanal's website and its Wikipedia page, both in French.
The text content of this document is available under a licence.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/fr/ | | |
| | Here you'll find all the photos taken by Dede7 during their visit to Lakanal!
You'll have one of the most complete photo galleries on Lycée Lakanal!
>>>Click here to download the photos<<< | | |
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