the essentials After two years of preparatory classes, Luigi, originally from Villemade (Tarn-et-Garonne), is preparing to join the École Polytechnique, after having brilliantly passed the competitive exams for three of the most prestigious French schools.
After two years of preparatory schools, Luigi, originally from Villemade (Tarn-et-Garonne), passed the three most prestigious competitive examinations for French higher education institutions: Polytechnique, Centrale and Mines.
A schoolboy in Villemade before continuing to the Saint Théodard college then to the Théas high school from where he graduated with his baccalaureate in his pocket with an average of 19.13, Luigi is about to enter polytechnic after two years of preparatory classes in Paris.
Son of a mechanic
His taste for scientific subjects was confirmed in high school, he explains, “thanks to interesting teachers who proved that studies are useful and allow you to see what you’re going to be used for.” Luigi would like to go into aeronautics “in the region it’s logical,” the son of a mechanic, he is also thinking about transport and automobiles. Two years of preparatory school allowed him to pass the three most prestigious competitive exams in France with flying colors: “Centrale and Mines present equivalent difficulties and Polytechnique, the most complicated, in particular the 12 long orals but above all more abstract, more theoretical and with two sports events, athletics and swimming.” To pass the three competitive exams, Luigi faced written exams from mid-April to mid-May and oral exams from the end of June to the beginning of July.
Left for Paris at 17 years old
The “Little Villemadais in Paris” as his parents define him, very proud but so worried when he left at 17, found it quite difficult to integrate. “However, I never felt contempt. In classes of 30, to work hard, there were all backgrounds but at “The boarding school of success” where the selection is academic and social, (reserved for scholarship holders) there is pleasant educational support. It is also quite easy to make friends by meeting up in the evening after such busy days. You have to have a good mentality, a good lifestyle, be well surrounded, by family far away but also by friends, I came across an exceptional boarding school.
Being mixed with other students from other preparatory classes (business school, journalism, École Normale Supérieure, etc.) reinforced my choice. Luigi will spend 4 years at Polytechnique, a military school, which he chose because there are many immersion internships and exchanges abroad. He starts with three weeks of military training at La Courtine (in Creuse) followed by 7 months of “human training” in a civilian or military environment. “Polytechnique adds a framework, cohesion, an identity. We will have a uniform for ceremonies and a small salary for studies that will have to be repaid over 10 years. I encourage students to try these competitions, even if you come from a humble background, like me, today it is achievable.”
