Choosing a hospitality school close to Paris means finding a balance between academic teaching and professional practice. At Ferrières, that balance begins with the place itself. The château, listed as a historic monument, is not merely a setting: it is a working estate, hosting seminars, gala dinners, receptions and film shoots. Students meet practising professionals there every day and have access to real professional settings, in events as much as in guest experience.
The school's teaching, summed up in the phrase Learning by Doing, follows the same logic: classes are delivered by practising professionals, real situations take place within the estate, and every programme includes placement or work-study periods in companies. Every student receives individual support through the professional immersion week within the Accelis ecosystem, devoted to professional bearing, communication and career planning.
The programmes cover the whole path, from school-leaver to career changer. The Bachelor in Hospitality Management provides training in the fundamentals of hotel management over one or three years, with a third-year specialisation: Hotel Operations, F&B Operations or Luxury Field Operations. The MSc. Leadership in Hospitality Management, offered as a dual degree with European Business School, prepares students for leadership and expert roles and leads to a Level 7 qualification. The Culinary Arts department trains students for the food professions, in cuisine and in pastry, for beginners and for adults changing career alike.
The school is also open to the world: close to half of its students are international or hold dual nationality, part of the teaching is delivered in English, and a campus is established in Barcelona. The estate is continuing its transformation, with a plan for a new campus close to the Château, together with student accommodation and facilities dedicated to student life. Part of GA Education alongside European Business School and École 89, École Ferrières also opens bridges between hospitality, business and the digital professions.
Founded in 2015 by Khalil Khater, Founding President of Groupe Accelis, École Ferrières is a private higher education hospitality school dedicated to hotels, gastronomy and luxury. It is based in the Château de Ferrières, in Ferrières-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, around thirty minutes from Paris, and offers programmes from Bachelor to MSc. as well as culinary arts programmes, leading to state-recognised qualifications and certificates.
A historic monument turned place of learning
The Ferrières estate first belonged to Joseph Fouché, Minister of Police under Napoleon I. It was on the site of this first château that Baron James de Rothschild, having acquired the land in 1829, had the present residence built from 1855 onwards. Designed by the British architect Joseph Paxton, creator of London's Crystal Palace, the château was inaugurated in 1862 in the presence of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie. Neo-Renaissance in style, it combined splendour and modernity from the outset: central heating, running water, and kitchens linked to the château by an underground service railway.
The place runs through the history of France. In September 1870, during the siege of Paris, it hosted the meeting between Otto von Bismarck and Jules Favre. Requisitioned in 1940, it remained uninhabited until 1959, when Guy and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild brought it back to life: the estate's themed balls drew the great figures of the day. In 1975, the family bequeathed the château to the Chancellerie des universités de Paris. In 2012, the estate passed to the commune of Ferrières-en-Brie, which wished to give it an educational purpose; in 2013 the project of a grande école was entrusted to Khalil Khater, and the first students were welcomed in 2015, after a complete restoration of the monument.
A professional ecosystem as a working environment
The school is not simply housed on a campus: it lives to the rhythm of a working estate, where students meet practising professionals every day. Masterclasses, gala dinners, film shoots and receptions are part of daily life at the Château, which remains a venue for prestige events. All of them are opportunities to work in real conditions, in events as much as in guest experience. École Ferrières also draws on the Accelis Ecosystem, a group active in luxury hotels and restaurants, which offers students placements, work-study positions and routes into employment. The school belongs to GA Education, a higher education group that also brings together European Business School and École 89: a complementarity that opens bridges between hospitality, business and the digital professions.
The Learning by Doing approach
The school's teaching is built on learning through practice: classes delivered by practising professionals, real situations within the estate, and placements and work-study periods in companies. Every student receives individual support through the professional immersion week within the Accelis ecosystem, which works on professional bearing, communication and career planning. To this are added teaching staff from the leading houses of hospitality, gastronomy and luxury, Career Summits putting students in direct contact with the sector's recruiters, masterclasses and professional events throughout the year, and an alumni network that is active in France and abroad.
Programmes from school-leaver to career changer
Over one or three years after the baccalauréat, the Bachelor in Hospitality Management provides training in the fundamentals of hotel management before a third-year specialisation: Hotel Operations, F&B Operations or Luxury Field Operations. The MSc. Leadership in Hospitality Management prepares students for leadership and expert roles in hospitality and luxury. Offered as a dual degree with European Business School, it combines the hospitality expertise of Ferrières with the fundamentals of business — strategy, finance, marketing and management. Open to holders of a three-year degree, it can be taken full-time or on a work-study basis, offers three second-year specialisations and leads to a Level 7 qualification. The Culinary Arts department, finally, trains students for the food professions through programmes in cuisine and in pastry, designed for beginners and for adults changing career: students work alongside teaching chefs, in professional facilities and in contact with the guests of the estate's restaurants.
A school open to the world
Close to half of the school's students are international or hold dual nationality, and part of the teaching is delivered in English. The school has a campus in Barcelona and is developing academic and professional partnerships abroad. The estate is also continuing its transformation, with a plan for a new campus close to the Château, together with student accommodation and facilities dedicated to student life. Would you like to study hospitality, gastronomy or luxury in a setting unlike any other? Discover our programmes, come to an Open Day or apply online.
