This château campus brings together, in a single location, 2,000 m² of classrooms and culinary laboratories, cellars and tasting rooms, a vineyard, coworking and reception spaces, a cafeteria and a coffee counter. Day to day, students work alongside the establishments of the ecosystem: the four-star Paxton Marne-la-Vallée hotel and its Cinq Mondes spa, the bistronomic restaurant Le Chai, the Italian restaurant L'Origano, and the Madeleine by Ferrières bakery-patisserie. These addresses are not practice rooms: they welcome real guests, and students work in them in professional conditions.
Society life, for its part, is run by the students. The student union Fer'Ô'Lion, elected each year, coordinates the campus societies and gives the year its rhythm of events: induction weekend, socials, inter-school sports competitions, charity initiatives. Ferrières Alumni connects the year groups to one another; Student Ambassador represents the school at student fairs and open days. Setting up your own society remains possible at any time, with the union's support.
Student accommodation benefits from the same support. Residential buildings have been built around the château: they offer studios and shared flats, a few minutes' walk from the teaching buildings. Student Service accompanies every student in that search, as in all their other procedures — administrative files, visa and residence permit applications, health insurance — from enrolment through to graduation. The neighbouring towns of Ferrières-en-Brie and Bussy-Saint-Georges offer further options, and a shuttle links the RER station to the campus.
To this are added the fixtures of the calendar: masterclasses led by hospitality and gastronomy professionals, Career Summits held at the Château, and a semester on the Barcelona campus devoted to the MICE professions. Student life at Ferrières is therefore about far more than a hospitality school close to Paris: it is lived within an estate, a community and a professional ecosystem.
A campus within a historic estate, 30 minutes from Paris
École Ferrières is set within the estate of the Château de Ferrières, in Ferrières-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne. The château campus holds 2,000 m² of classrooms and culinary laboratories, a teaching restaurant and hotel area, cellars and tasting rooms, a vineyard, living and coworking spaces, and reception rooms. Bussy-Saint-Georges RER station, linked to the campus by a shuttle, places Paris 30 minutes away; Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports are around forty minutes by car. This setting — an estate in the countryside, a capital city within reach of the RER — defines a large part of the student experience at Ferrières.
Studying alongside a working ecosystem
What makes the campus distinctive is what surrounds it. Students work in direct contact with establishments that are open for business and welcome outside guests: the four-star Paxton Marne-la-Vallée hotel and its Cinq Mondes spa, the bistronomic restaurant Le Chai, the Italian restaurant L'Origano, the Biomonde organic shop and the Madeleine by Ferrières bakery-patisserie. To these are added the catering activity and the receptions held in the Château's Grand Salon, as well as the Château La Dorgonne wine estate on the wine side. Depending on the programme, immersion takes the form of professional immersion weeks, supervised services or projects entrusted to students in real conditions. Nothing here is simulated: a service is still a service, a guest is still a guest.
A society life run by the students
At Ferrières, the societies are run by the students themselves. The student union, Fer'Ô'Lion, is elected each year: it brings together the campus societies, settles the events calendar and acts as the link between students and the school's management. Around it are initiatives with complementary purposes — sports activities and inter-school competitions, socials and events, charity and community initiatives, projects with an entrepreneurial dimension. The union also takes charge of preparing the end-of-year gala, an exercise carried out over several months: programme, budget, search for partners, staging. Ferrières Alumni extends the experience beyond graduation by connecting the year groups to one another. Student Ambassador, finally, represents the school at student fairs, open days and school visits. Joining a society asks nothing of you in advance, and setting one up remains possible at any time.
Finding accommodation close to the campus
The question of student accommodation arises as soon as a place is offered. Residential buildings have been built around the château: they offer studios and shared flats in a quiet setting, opening onto the grounds around the estate, a few minutes' walk from the teaching buildings. Living on site changes daily life — getting to a class, a restaurant service or a society meeting requires no travel and no timetable constraint, and that is also what turns a year group into a community. The neighbouring towns of Ferrières-en-Brie and Bussy-Saint-Georges offer further options. The search remains each student's own responsibility, but Student Service points students towards the residences available and helps them put their applications together. For visiting families, the Paxton Marne-la-Vallée hotel is an alternative on the campus itself.
The fixtures of the year
The student calendar combines academic highlights and society occasions: masterclasses led by hospitality and gastronomy professionals, Career Summits held at the Château, receptions and events, the induction weekend, sports competitions and the end-of-year gala. Future applicants also have several ways to discover the school before applying — Open Days, Ferrières Live online, Immersion Days allowing them to follow a day of classes and take part in a cookery or pastry workshop, and private appointments with an admissions adviser.
Practical life and support
Student Service is a single point of contact for every procedure: administrative files, visa and residence permit applications for international students, health insurance cover, and personal circumstances. This support runs from enrolment through to graduation, and spares students from having to work out who to speak to for each question.
An experience that extends beyond the campus
Student life at Ferrières has an international dimension too. The Barcelona campus, 1,200 m² in the heart of the Poblenou district, hosts a semester devoted to the MICE professions, followed by a professional placement, with classes in English and an international cohort. At Ferrières as in Barcelona, the principle remains the same: learning a hospitality profession by practising it, within a community of students who build part of their own environment.
