About the College Cevenol

The Collège Cévenol International is a French middle and high school located in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a mountain village in the Cevennes Mountains. It lies west of Lyon about a 5-hour drive from Paris. The 30-acre campus, once a family farm, provides a woodland setting for classroom and administrative buildings, dormitories, dining room, laboratories, art, music and sports facilities, all within a 10-minute walk from "downtown" and the Lignon River.

The Collège Cévenol was founded in 1938, as war clouds loomed, by two dedicated Protestant pastors. During WWII, the villagers thwarted Nazi authorities and sheltered 3,500 Jews and other refugees. Their story is immortalizied in Phillip Hallie's book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, and in Pierre Sauvage's film, Weapons of the Spirit.

For more than 60 years the Collège Cévenol has fostered international understanding and peace by bringing together students from many lands and cultures. The school's original purposes--peace and cross-cultural understanding--inspire the programs today.

About The American Friends of College Cevenol

The American Friends of College Cevenol is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation formed in 1952. Contributions are tax deductible. Its members include alumni of the high school as well as former partipants in Cevenol’s annual summer work-study camp. The AFCC’s mission is to raise money for student scholarships and school upkeep. The AFCC is also in charge of work camp admissions and directs the summer work/study program.