Mr Fouad Thebian, a larger-than-life figure, has been highly acknowledged for his outstanding contribution to the field of education. His infinite dedication, determination, and pursuit of excellence in all the positions he held throughout his life helped him earn the love and respect of those who knew him and worked with him.
His life journey demonstrates an inspirational story of a self-made mentor who valued nothing more than education and its power to make a difference in the world.
When you talk about Mr Fouad Thebian, you cannot but talk about his most treasured accomplishment: Le Lycée National Schools.
He liked to call the school his sixth child. It was born, grew, developed and shone as a result of his effort, his labour and his sleepless nights. He gave it, with passion and love, all of his heart, his mind and his thought — to the last breath.
Throughout these years, Mr Fouad’s schools flourished and prospered to become among the best and leading schools at both local and national levels, making him the most influential figure in the field of education in Lebanon. The major factor behind this outstanding success is his vision, commitment and passion in creating the most dynamic, challenging learning community.
Our history
1970
Bchara El Khoury Street, Beirut
The school opens in a rented building with seventy kindergarten and elementary pupils in the French section. Fouad Zebian is thirty-six.
1971
The second year
One hundred and eleven pupils. The school had survived its first year, which most private schools of the period did not.
1975
The village that became a school
The civil war forces a move to Mzraat El Chouf, the founder’s birthplace. Its houses become classrooms and its gardens playgrounds, with a boarding wing for teachers from outside the Chouf. Four hundred pupils, then over sixteen hundred the following year — not a school in a village, but a village inside a school.
1977
The hill at Bekaata
In October the school moves to a hill in the middle of the Chouf, at Bekaata on the edge of Semkhaniyeh. A new building, built to last.
1980s
Two branches on the coast
A branch opens at Dohat El Hoss in the coastal town of Naameh, and another at Ramlet El Bayda in Beirut. The school becomes Beiruti again without ceasing to be of the Chouf.
1995
Choueifat
The Dohat El Hoss branch moves to Choueifat on the Main Bchamoun Road, into a building of the newest generation. It is the main campus today.