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Origin and history

The household school in the Arenberg district of Wallers was inaugurated in 1910, as part of the development of social infrastructure around the Arenberg pit, an important coal mine in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining area. It was intended to train girls between the ages of 14 and 18 in household tasks (cooking, sewing, ironing, raising children) over a period of three years. The preliminary project, designed in 1907, provided for a functional building with accommodation for the director, specialized classrooms, and a glass gallery opening onto a garden. After the Second World War, the school was transformed into a vocational high school, with the addition of an additional wing to improve the reception conditions for students.

The construction of the school is part of the broader context of the creation of the mining city of Arenberg, initiated in 1900 by the Compagnie des mines d'Anzin. This city, designed to house minors and their families, included corons, schools, a church (Sainte-Barbe), a festive hall, and social facilities such as a clinic. The household school, located near the pit, reflected the social values of the time, where the training of women in domestic roles was considered essential for the stability of working families. The school's facades and roofs were listed as historical monuments on December 1, 2009, before its UNESCO World Heritage classification in 2012, as part of the Hauts-de-France mining site.

The Arenberg mining site, of which the household school is part, experienced intense activity until the pit closed in 1989. The preservation of the school and other buildings (fest hall, church, cities) is partly explained by the filming of Germinal in 1992, which saved these infrastructures from destruction. Today, the household school, located at 41b rue Taffin or 44 place Casimir Périer in Wallers, bears witness to the social and industrial history of the region, marked by coal mining and the community organization of mining towns. Its architecture and educational role make it a key element of the Hauts-de-France mining heritage.

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