Institut Alpin Videmanette

The Institut Alpin Videmanette was a finishing school in the municipality of Rougemont, Switzerland. It was an all-girl school where the lessons were skiing, cooking, dressmaking[1] and French.[1][2]

Château-d'Œx

In 1973, the school was headed by Monsieur and Madame C. L. Yersin.[3] In 1981, it was reported to have an age range between sixteen and twenty and to teach language and commercial programmes through the medium of the French language.[4]

The main facilities were in Château d'Œx.[5][6]

Tamara Mellon was at the school in the mid-1980s, when it had some sixty girls and was still headed by Madame Yersin. She later wrote of it that "The assumption was that you were a dunce and that the only hope for you was to attach yourself to what was known as a good provider." In her day there was a smoking room and in the winter months there were skiing lessons every afternoon. Girls would often meet boys from Le Rosey at a nightclub in Gstaad. The winter campus of Le Rosey was nearby.[7]

The school closed in 1991.[8]

Alumnae

References
  1. Morton, Andrew (1992). Diana: Her True Story. London: Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 9780329629830. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. Brown, Tina (2007). The Diana Chronicles. USA: Penguin Random House. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. "Institut Alpin Videmanette" in Schools 1973 (London: Truman & Knightley Educational Trust, 1973), p. 799
  4. "Institut Alpin Videmanette" in Karlene N. Dickey, Switzerland, a Study of the Educational System of Switzerland and a Guide to the Academic Placement of Students from Switzerland in Educational Institutions of the United States (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1981), p. 118
  5. Courtney, Nicholas (1982). Diana, Princess of Wales. UK: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 9780030632297. Retrieved 28 November 2020. Lady Diana went to the Institut Alpin Videmanette at the Chateau d'Oex near Gstaad.
  6. Thornhill, Emily (2 June 2017). "The history-breaking reason that made Princess Diana different from all other royal brides". Harper's Bazaar UK. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2020. Prior to her engagement, Diana worked as a teacher at Young England School in Pimlico. The charitable princess took on the role after returning to London from the exclusive Chateau D'Oex finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland in 1978.
  7. Tamara Mellon, In My Shoes (London: Penguin, 2013), pp. 38–41
  8. "Lessons from the Last Swiss Finishing School The New Yorker". The New Yorker. 2018-10-02. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  9. "Tamara Mellon on Twitter: "Me sneaking out of Institut Alpin Videmane…". 2020-11-28. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  10. "Tamara Mellon's Next Step". New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2020. After completing her O levels, roughly equivalent to graduating from high school, she picked up passable French while enrolled at the Institut Alpin Videmanette, a Swiss finishing school, now defunct, famous for educating another notable pupil, Diana Spencer, on etiquette and manners.

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