Cours Hattemer is a French private, secular school. It is independent of the state, and can follow its own teaching approach, which is structured and places great stress on repetition to drive home what has been learned. The school has many well-known alumni including the actress

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

and the French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

. Hattemer is located in Paris, in the 8th and 16th districts.

Description

The school was founded by Rose Hattemer of Alsace in 1885. The founder taught some of the great Parisian families towards the end of the 19th century, and developed a method of teaching by correspondence for the children of diplomats, which is still followed today. The school was originally located on rue Clapeyron in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is now housed in a five-story building erected nearby on rue de Londres in 1935 to accommodate a growing number of pupils. There is a cafeteria, gym and playground. The school provides flexible hours, so a student may take time to practice an instrument or train for a sport. When

was admitted to the Cours Hattemer at the age of seven during

World War II 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939–45) she only had to go to school three days a week, and otherwise studied at home. This gave her time to take dancing lessons. In the period after

the school was one of the few that encouraged art, and thereby attracted pupils from the families of actors or public figures. It catered to children who were "special cases" such as

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois char ...

and her classmate Florence Malraux, daughter of

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...

, who attended in the early 1950s. There are about 1,500 students from kindergarten to the

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

(high school certificate), half of whom learn by correspondence. Classes have 15–25 students.

Syllabus

Hattemer is a private school that is not under contract to the government and so has freedom to set its own curriculum and teaching methods. Students and their parents are screened to ensure they agree that a child who is learning is a happy child. The school's teachers write the textbooks. The school uses structure and repetition in its classes. Constant repetition of content in oral and written questions includes reviews of what was learned in a day, a week and a year. In 2017, Hattemer joined the internationa
NACE Schools
group.

Notable alumni

The walls of the school are lined with photographs of famous alumni, including Brigitte Bardot,

Christophe Dechavanne Christophe Dechavanne (; born 23 January 1958), is a French television and radio host and program producer. Biography Dechavanne attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He started working as a radio host in the early 1980s. In 1985, he pr ...

Jean d'Ormesson Count Jean Bruno Wladimir François de Paule Le Fèvre d'Ormesson (16 June 1925 – 5 December 2017) was a French novelist. He was the author of forty books, the director of '' Le Figaro'' from 1974 to 1979, and the Dean of the Académie français ...

Michel Polnareff Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944, Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a French singer-songwriter, who was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s with his penultimate original album, ''Kāma-Sūtra''. He is still critically ...

Véronique Sanson Véronique Marie Line Sanson (; born 24 April 1949) is a three-time Victoires de la Musique award-winning French singer-songwriter and record producer with an avid following in her native country. Ten years after Barbara, Véronique Sanson beca ...

and

Anne Sinclair Anne Sinclair (, born Anne-Élise Schwartz; 15 July 1948) is a New-York-born French television and radio interviewer. She hosted one of the most popular political shows for more than thirteen years on TF1, the largest European private TV channel ...

. Other notable alumni include: *

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

(born 1936), businessman, Imam of Nizari Ismailism *

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

(1913–97), last emperor of Vietnam *

Alain Calmat Alain Calmat, (born 31 August 1940) is a French former competitive figure skater, surgeon, and politician. He is the 1964 Olympic silver medalist, the 1965 World champion, the 1962–1964 European champion, and the 1958 & 1962–1965 Frenc ...

(born 1940), skater, surgeon, politician *

Claude Cheysson Claude Cheysson (; 13 April 1920 – 15 October 2012) was a French Socialist politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of Pierre Mauroy from 1981 to 1984. Career Cheysson was born in Paris and attended the Cours Hattemer, ...

(1920–2012), politician *

Bruno Cremer Bruno Jean Marie Cremer (6 October 1929 – 7 August 2010) was a French actor best known for portraying Jules Maigret on French television, from 1991 to 2005. Origins Bruno Cremer was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, in the eastern suburbs ...

(1929–2010), actor *

Bernard Debré Bernard Debré (30 September 194413 September 2020) was a French urologist at Hôpital Cochin and a member ( deputy) of the National Assembly of France. He was one of the representatives of the city of Paris, and was a member of the Union ...

(born 1944), urologist, politician *

Patrick Dewaere Patrick Dewaere (26 January 1947 – 16 July 1982) was a French film actor. Born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, he was the son of French actress Mado Maurin. Actor from a young age, his career lasted more than 21 years, until his suicide in P ...

(1947–82), film actor *

Dominique Frémy Dominique Frémy (5 May 1931 – 2 October 2008) was the creator of the '' Quid'' encyclopedia. His spouse Michèle and son Fabrice participated in writing it as well. Frémy attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He was a diplomaed stud ...

(1931–2008), creator of the Quid encyclopedia *

Jacques Friedel Jacques Friedel ForMemRS (; 11 February 1921 – 27 August 2014) was a French physicist and material scientist. Education Friedel attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He studied at the École Polytechnique from 1944 to 1946, and the É ...

(1921–2014), physicist, material scientist *

Jacques de Lacretelle Jacques de Lacretelle (14 July 1888 in Cormatin, Saône-et-Loire – 2 January 1985) was a French novelist. He was elected to the Académie Française on 12 November 1936. Bibliography * 1920 ''La vie inquiète de Jean Hermelin'' (Grasset) * ...

(1888–1985), novelist *

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

(born 1943), racing driver, TV commentator *

Bertrand Meyer Bertrand Meyer (; ; born 21 November 1950) is a French academic, author, and consultant in the field of computer languages. He created the Eiffel programming language and the idea of design by contract. Education and academic career Meyer recei ...

(born 1950), computer scientist *

Christine Ockrent Christine Ockrent (born 24 April 1944) is a Belgian journalist whose career has principally centered on French television. She interviewed Amir Abbas Hoveyda, the former Iranian prime minister, in Evin prison after the Islamic revolution in 197 ...

(born 1944), journalist *

Michel Poniatowski Michel Poniatowski (16 May 1922 – 15 January 2002) was a French politician, member of a legitimized line of Poland's princely Poniatowski family. He was a founder of the Independent Republicans and a part of the administration for President ...

(1922–2002), politician *

Anne Queffélec Anne Queffélec (born 17 January 1948) is a French classical pianist, born in Paris. Biography Anne Queffélec is the daughter of Henri Queffélec and sister of Yann Queffélec, both noted writers. Her brother Hervé Queffélec is a mathema ...

(born 1948), classical pianist *

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

(1923–2005), ruler of Monaco * Édouard de Rothschild (born 1957), businessman *

(1935–2004), playwright, novelist *

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

(1905–80), philosopher, playwright, novelist *

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco (born 1 February 1965) is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Han ...

(born 1965), singer, fashion model.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hattemer, Le Cours Private schools in France Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris 1885 establishments in France Educational institutions established in 1885