Collège du Sacré-Cœur is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

French-language school located in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. The school hosts two campuses the original one in Ghamra founded in 1904 and a second campus founded in 1911 on Beirut street at Heliopolis. Despite being labelled a

collège In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

, the school covers all years from nursey through secondary and is a member of The

Network of Sacred Heart Schools The School of the Sacred Heart is an international network of private Catholic schools that are run by or affiliated with the Society of the Sacred Heart, which was founded in France by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat. Membership of the network ex ...

History

The Collège was founded in 1904 under the name Pensionnat du Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

). A second school was added at the urging of Ismail Sidky as a way to provide French-language instruction to the newly constructed city of Heliopolis in 1911. The school's building was built in 1900's with the distinct Heliopolis style modeled after the orientalist designs of

Édouard Empain Édouard Louis Joseph, 1st Baron Empain (20 September 1852 – 22 July 1929), was a wealthy Walloon Belgian engineer, entrepreneur, financier and industrialist, as well as an amateur Egyptologist. During World War I he became a known Major Genera ...

. The school's early classes had a small number of girls most of whom where European but overtime grew rapidly and would come to primarily consist of Egyptian citizens. College du Sacre Coeur 1eme Section

During the

first world war World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the school acted as a refuge for those fleeing under both the Ottoman and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

empires. The school also served as the chapel and camp for

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

while students helped to aid those wounded at the hospital set up at the Heliopolis Palace Hotel. Similarly, during

the second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the school housed many refugees freeing from Nazi-occupied France. Following the revolution of 1952, the school underwent many changes. The structure of the school would no longer be a Catholic boarding school instead focusing on day classes and opening up its doors to non-Christians. Coinciding with this was a shift from a purely French educational system to one focused on the French-language and a new "franco-egyptian" curriculum. In 2005, the school was certified by the

Institut Français The Institut Français (French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...

to include courses to prepare students for the French Baccalauréat but does not offer the exam itself.

Architecture

The school's campus in Heliopolis has been noted for its distinct architecture in a neo-

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

style. It was in part designed by

as a part of his constructed city. The school would become a symbol of the neighborhood in Cairo and was even featured in a graphic novel and art installation in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

References

External links

* Heliopolis campus official website * Ghamra campus official website
Network of Sacred Heart Schools
Christianity in Cairo Private schools in Cairo Catholic Church in Egypt {{egypt-school-stub