While many adults could not wait to put their classroom days behind them, Youmna and Anthony Rakotondrazaka fell in love with an unusual property in the Côtes d’Armor and now spend their lives at school.
Youmna and Anthony RakotondrazakaLa Récréation
Youmna, 38, and Anthony, 45, met in 2009 working in a glamorous, 130-room hotel in Bordeaux. Lebanon-born Youmna had moved there after completing her studies, and Anthony had built a career in luxury hotels in Paris and London.
After working together for nine years in Bordeaux, they progressed to managerial roles before finally taking the leap to work for themselves.
“Everyone knows about the hotel industry’s unsociable hours,” Youmna said, “and with two young children, we thought we could get a better balance if we used our experience and worked together. We spent a long time discussing the idea of running a guest house but we couldn’t afford to do so in Bordeaux. We had to look further afield.”
In 2019, the couple viewed properties in different regions, but ultimately fell for a former school in the Breton village of Châtelaudren, 20 minutes west of Saint-Brieuc.
“We visited a lot of places, but they all lacked that special something. Anthony loved this one just from the photos,” said Youmna.
“I was a little more cautious but once we visited, we fell for it immediately.”
Built in 1892, École Sainte-Anne was initially staffed by Catholic sisters of Les Filles du Saint-Esprit. It catered for up to 140 pupils (mostly girls) and was briefly a World War One military hospital and sewing school for older girls, continuing as a school until 2008.
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The building lay empty for several years, before being purchased and turned into a traditional chambres d’hôtes.
Sadly, the woman who completed the initial renovations died unexpectedly after one year, so it remained vacant for three more years before Youmna and Anthony found it and brought it to life once more.
A view of the new insideLa Récréation
Having completed their purchase before the pandemic, they were able to spend time as a family and sell their Bordeaux property before relocating to Côtes-d’Armor at the end of August 2020.
“Our first priority was our own accommodation, making sure that our children Maëwenn and Théo – who were then six and four – felt at home,” says Youmna. “After that, we took time to personalise all the rooms, introducing colour and curating pieces that reflected the school’s long history. There was a lot to think about!”
The former schoolhouse has an impressive 600m² of floor space including its vast attic, which is currently undeveloped.
Original features
While it is not a listed building, certain restrictions apply because it sits within 500m of a 14th-century chapel, meaning that any external modifications must be approved by Bâtiments de France.
Aside from the family quarters, the main building comprises a breakfast room and large guest lounge, two apartments and five guest bedrooms over three storeys.
In the former first-floor classrooms, the windows are placed a little higher than usual, to discourage daydreaming!
The original architectural elements are enhanced by thoughtful decorative touches such as oversized blackboards, old games and period teaching maps. While their children are not really aware of their home as a former school, they do sometimes use the maps and draw on the blackboards.
Former pupils from the schoolLa Récréation
“Actually, one of the biggest challenges was tracking down pieces that felt right, often through second-hand sites,” says Anthony. “Guests recognise these old classroom items and tend to get nostalgic or share anecdotes about their own school days, which is lovely.”
In January 2021, the couple opened their new business: La Récréation. It is named after school playtime. Each room is also named after a school subject and to reach their rooms, guests climb the original staircase, holding a handrail smoothed by countless children over the decades.
As well as the high ceilings and tall windows, the parquet flooring is original, complete with the scrapes from chairs of decades gone by.
In December 2022, the couple organised a large-scale school reunion, inviting former pupils to return, explore the premises and share their own memories and photos, many of which are displayed in a photo album in the guest lounge. Châtelaudren is a surprisingly vibrant village of about 1,000 residents, most of whom share in the former school’s history, as is the case with Fabienne, who lives nearby.
“I think it's brilliant, what they've done,” she said.
La Récréation's back garden includes a sky-blue poolLa Récréation
“It's a great way to keep the school part of village life. I appreciate how they value the building's history, especially as I went to school there myself, from maternelle right up to the end of junior school. They're both very involved in the community, we're delighted to have them here – and they're really lovely people, too, which doesn’t hurt!”
Spending all your life at school might not be for everyone, but this family has really settled in and brought the old building into the 21st century, while safeguarding its heritage.
Although you cannot help wondering what the nuns would have made of the heated pool that now sits in the back garden…
