grande école

plural grandes écoles

1. A specialized institution of higher education in France, outside the mainstream framework of the public universities system.

   But the effort is being met with concerns from the grandes écoles, who fear it could dilute standards, and is stirring anger among the French at large, who fear it runs counter to a French ideal of a meritocracy blind to race, religion and ethnicity.

   2010, Steven Erlanger, Top French Schools, Asked to Diversify, Fear for Standards