Collège du Sacré-Cœur is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

French-language school located in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The school hosts two campuses the original one in Ghamra founded in 1904 and a second campus founded in 1911 on Beirut street at Heliopolis. Despite being labelled a

collège In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, the school covers all years from nursey through secondary and is a member of The Network of Sacred Heart Schools.

History

The Collège was founded in 1904 under the name Pensionnat du Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

). A second school was added at the urging of

Ismail Sidky Ismail Sidky Pasha (; 15 June 1875 – 9 July 1950) was an Egyptian politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 1930 to 1933 and again in 1946. Life and career He was born in Alexandria and was originally named Isma'il Saddiq but his ...

as a way to provide French-language instruction to the newly constructed city of Heliopolis in 1911. The school's building was built in 1900's with the distinct Heliopolis style modeled after the orientalist designs of Édouard Empain. The school's early classes had a small number of girls most of whom where European but overtime grew rapidly and would come to primarily consist of Egyptian citizens. College du Sacre Coeur 1eme Section

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the school acted as a refuge for those fleeing under both the Ottoman and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

empires. The school also served as the chapel and camp for

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

while students helped to aid those wounded at the hospital set up at the Heliopolis Palace Hotel. Similarly, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the school housed many refugees freeing from Nazi-occupied France. Following the revolution of 1952, the school underwent many changes. The structure of the school would no longer be a Catholic boarding school instead focusing on day classes and opening up its doors to non-Christians. Coinciding with this was a shift from a purely French educational system to one focused on the French-language and a new "franco-egyptian" curriculum. In 2005, the school was certified by the

Institut Français The Institut Français (; French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...

to include courses to prepare students for the French Baccalauréat but does not offer the exam itself.

Architecture

The school's campus in Heliopolis has been noted for its distinct architecture in a neo-

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

style. It was in part designed by Édouard Empain as a part of his constructed city. The school would become a symbol of the neighborhood in Cairo and was even featured in a graphic novel and art installation in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

References

External links

* Heliopolis campus official website * Ghamra campus official website
Network of Sacred Heart Schools
{{DEFAULTSORT:College Du Sacre-Coeur Christianity in Cairo Private schools in Cairo Catholic Church in Egypt