A note for those who remember the uniforms, the dormitories and the famous diploma: The Boarding School of Chavagnes is set to return on M6. According to information from the Parisien, the network is currently working on a fresh version of its show launched in 2004, with a broadcast planned in the coming months. More than two decades after the first term began, a new class will head back to school… but not quite the class of 2026.
The concept that propelled the show to success is set to stay largely unchanged. A group of 13- to 16-year-olds will be immersed for several weeks in the daily life of a 1950s boarding school, with its rules, teaching methods and discipline. At the end of the experience, the students will have to attempt to earn the primary school certificate, just as in the original program.
To understand why M6 is bringing back the Cahiers today, a quick look back at 2004. The first edition brought together 24 teenagers aged 14 to 16 at the Chavagnes-en-Paillers boarding school in Vendée. And it was a hit: the show drew an average of 5.2 million viewers every Thursday evening, according to the M6 Group’s annual report published at the time.
The concept was then revived with Le Pensionnat de Sarlat in 2005, this time sending the students back to the 1960s. M6 rolled out the desks once more in 2013 with Retour au pensionnat à la campagne, the show's third incarnation.
This new cohort, however, will not be kicking off its run in Chavagnes. The next edition will be filmed at a new location, whose identity has not yet been disclosed. Several details still need to be clarified: no exact air date has been announced, and M6 has yet to reveal the teenage contestants or the team that will mentor them.
With the comeback of the Pensionnat, M6 is tapping directly into one of its big hits from the 2000s. The question is whether the teens of 2026 will earn their diploma... and whether this new cohort, too, will pass the test with viewers!
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