120 years of Champittet #1: The founding of the school and its DNA

This year marks the 120th anniversary of Collège Champittet. Follow us and discover, each month, the events that have shaped the history of Collège Champittet.

Switzerland, a refuge for Dominican fathers and their pupils

At the beginning of the last century, the Dominican fathers of the Saint Thomas Aquinas College in Oullins, near Lyon, were forbidden to teach in France by the secular and very anticlerical laws of the time. In 1903, they took refuge in Switzerland and founded the Collège Champittet in Pully as a boarding school for boys until 1984, when co-education was introduced.

Their purpose was to evangelize and, if possible, to train priests. The first 68 students from Oullins, who decided to follow their teachers to Switzerland, first stayed in Montriond before moving to their new school in Pully.   

The Dominicans, who had been celebrating mass in the private chapel of the Countess of Montenach, residing in her vast property called Champittet, bought it and commissioned the Lausanne architect Henri Verrey (1852-1928) for the construction.

The name Champittet has no special meaning: it is composed of the word "champ" and the common Vaudois name "Pittet", "le champ à Pittet", as we would say "le moulin à Jean".

The legacy of our founders

How do the origins of the school transcend to the present day?  The DNA of Collège Champittet embraces this commitment to educate young people who are determined to engage for a better world. Christian and humanist values are at the heart of everything. Today, we talk about leaders and influencers. Our visionary founders also bequeathed us a green and quiet campus, ideally located near the lake and the city.

Article written by Philippe de Korodi, Collège Champittet Head of school