The sign on the door of a stick-figure of a man marked with a big "X" will have to go; bending to economic reality and social change, the last Swiss finishing school now accepts men.
The Institut Villa Pierrefeu, perched on a hill looking out over Lake Geneva at Glion, Montreux, is the last in a line of institutions that have floundered under the weight of an elitist image as "schools for princesses". Lady Diana Spencer attended one in the same canton.
In their heyday, European aristocrats sent their daughters to finishing schools in safe, neutral Switzerland to polish their manners and prepare them for married life. A handful of these academies once flourished in the French-speaking Alps but one by one, these have closed as young women attend university and pursue careers.
Now, however, a rekindled demand for their particular schooling in manners has come from an unlikely source - men. "Men are starting to realise that like it or not, we are also judged by our manners," Philippe Neri, the crisply suited grandson of the school's founder, says. » | Emma Farge in Glion | Friday, October 25, 2013
