Our history
In 1824, Father Arnaudeau, curate of the parish of Saint Jacques and later parish priest of Saint Sauveur-La Foucaudière, decided to found Christian schools in Châtellerault.
To do so, he gave up his share of the inheritance left to him by his parents. The buildings on rue Saint Jacques and rue des Fronteaux were thus entrusted to the Brothers of Saint-Gabriel of Saint Laurent sur Sèvre. They would become the Institution Saint-Gabriel, for boys. The buildings on rue Sully, intended for girls, made it possible to found the Institution Notre-Dame, entrusted to the Sisters of Wisdom of Saint Laurent sur Sèvre.
In 1919, the Bishop of Poitiers, Monseigneur de Durfort, entrusted the Saint-Gabriel institution to the priests of the diocese. The Sisters of the Immaculate Conception were put in charge of the boarding school (a task they carried out until 1965). Father Beaufine was appointed curate of Saint Jacques and director of the school.
In 1920, Canon Roland took over as director.
In 1948, Father Marcel Caillaud, who had taught at the school since 1939, succeeded him, followed in 1972 by Alain Lhoste. At that time, Saint-Gabriel comprised a nursery and primary school and a middle school.
The Daughters of Wisdom were responsible for Notre-Dame from its foundation until the two schools merged. On the girls’ side, the school comprised a nursery and primary school, a middle school and a vocational high school.
In 1973, the two schools merged to become one single institution, under an association contract with the State and under diocesan supervision: Institution Saint-Gabriel Notre-Dame. Alain Lhoste became its director.
In 1992, Jean-Claude Cardinaux was appointed head of school for the middle school and the vocational high school, and placed in charge of managing the Institution as a whole. Yannick Morisset succeeded him in 2010.
In 2015, he was replaced by Olivier Maron, who held the same role until the summer of 2020, when Eric Nauleau, leaving his neighbouring school in Dangé Saint Romain, took over as head of the middle school and high school.
For the nursery and primary school, Marie-Paule Romenay was appointed head of school in 1992. She was succeeded by Christiane Des Touches in 2002, Pierre Minoza in 2008 and Laurence Lamara in 2015. Sandrine Champion has been head of the nursery and primary school since September 2019.
