Gina Zanzani, age 16, of Lake Charles, La., for her question:

IS THE SORBONNE A GOOD SCHOOL?

The Sorbonne is one of the world's most famous institutions of higher learning. It started in the 1200s as a medieval college of theology and is now part of the French state owned University of Paris. It is more than a good school    it is a great school.

One of the finest university buildings in the world houses the present day Sorbonne. It dates from 1889 and is known as La Nouvelle Sorbonne, or the New Sorbonne.

The university maintains facilities of science, law, literature and medicine. It has some of the world's best equipped laboratories, lecture rooms and libraries.

Today students from many parts of the world study at the Sorbonne. As many as 40,000 foreign students are enrolled each year.