Chavagnes International College
 |
|
| Motto | In electis tuis mitte radices |
|---|---|
| Established | 1802 and 2002 |
| Type | Independent school |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Principal | Ferdi McDermott MA MEd PGCE MCIL FCollT FRSA |
| Location |
96 rue du Calvaire Chavagnes-en-Paillers 85250 France |
| Students | 40 |
| Gender | All boy |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Houses | Cathelineau, Charette, Rochejacquelein, Suzannet |
| Colours | Blue, Red and Gold |
| Former pupils | Old Chavagnians |
| Website | www |
Chavagnes International College is a Catholic school for boys in Chavagnes-en-Paillers, France. Founded in 1802 by Louis-Marie Baudouin the school was re-fashioned an "international college" by Ferdi McDermott in 2002. The school's language of instruction is English, and it prepares pupils for British GCSEs and A-levels, with the French Brevet and Baccalauréat as options.
The College claims to be a traditional English school in France. Although pupils come from Britain and other English-speaking countries Britain, there are also more and more pupils from France. In this international environment, modern languages are particularly strong, with many boys taking GCSE languages (French, German, Spanish, English) one or two years early. Older boys often speak four languages fluently.
Chavagnes en Paillers has a long history of association with England, and with a general attitude of welcoming outsiders. The motto on the official arms of the village comes from the 133rd Psalm (Ecce Quam Bonum): 'Habitare fratres in unum' (Behold how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.)
The land on which the College is built, formerly the site of a Roman villa, was given to a community of Benedictine monks in the thirteenth century by the Anglo-French family, Harpedan de Belleville, who then ruled the area. The monastery built at that time was dedicated to St Anthony of Egypt (also called St Anthony the Great), the founder of monasticism. The monastery received a canonical visitation from a Papal Legate, Bertrand de Got in the late 12th century. He subsequently became the first Pope at Avignon, Clement V.
In the years that followed, Chavagnes saw many changes and upheavals. In the nineteenth century, its walls housed the first junior seminary in France after the Revolution, founded by the Venerable Louis-Marie Baudouin in 1802. Father Baudouin recounted a prophecy whispered to him by a dying priest, renowned for his sanctity: "il y aura toujours un séminaire à Chavagnes" ("there will always be a seminary in Chavagnes"). This legend would later inspire several successful attempts to keep the seminary open against the will of the Emperor Napoleon, the Fourth Republic and the Nazis.
...
Wikipedia