Having two daughters myself, i was wonder if it was a good idea to send them to this?
I mean, manners are still a useful thing to have, aren't they?
Does anyone have any experience of this?
I recently saw an article on a Swiss Finishing School.
Could be a good idea.
What sort of finish were you wanting? French Polish or surface veneer?
Well... i could probably teach my daughters how to TIG weld, but I'm not that good at which fork goes where, when setting the table.
And should they wish to dine with King George?
The only one still open is The institut villa pierrefeu. Costs about $20,000 for the 6 week course.
We first have to go through King Charles. Then King William. Finally to King George.
Which leaves a couple of issues: will there ever be a King George and if there is, will your daughters take their grandchildren with them to meet him?
Considering that that doesn't even cover the cost of a handbag , thats actually quite price-worthy.
I think that would be a wonderful idea. If you have the extra cash, I am sure they could learn a Thing or two. Also, I bet you any money, energy drinks and cigarettes are not permitted and if they are, it is not a good school. I can imagine it's difficult to get good teachers though.
From what we hear in 20 Mins ;-) some sons and daughters SHOULD indeed have gone to one of these fine places, although I am sure it doesn't Substitute for respectible and decent parentage. Interesting though. Please let us know if you decide and what you and your daughter thought of it.
Another option might be a Modeling course, I did one years ago and as well as the modeling&photo stuff there was quite a bit on manners and eating, it was a bit less than 20k. The thing I gained most from it was confidence that I was doing "the right thing" so I could feel confortable mixing in any social environment.
Or try Christine at http://www.newinzurich.com/ or www.rentarentner.ch if you are thinking about private lessons.
Being fascinated at this "throw back" to a gentler (or is that more uptight?) time, I googled it and found this BBC article on the above mentioned school. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18583577 . It appears that its goal is really to form its students into gracious hostesses and hammer "international" etiquette into them. That cannot be a bad thing. My own lot could use better manners. I expect the basics of good etiquette, though, could be delivered in a three day workshop. My philosophical question is this: Is it worth spending 20,000 and six months on learning the finer details of proper etiquette in a world (and judging by media, this includes the "cream" of society) that has by large forgotten what it is? Kind of like making the effort to learn a lost language and expecting to speak it on the street.