The curriculum

Six strands, and a house that practises them.

Institut Solène teaches in six strands. They are evergreen, citable, and written to be practised by a household rather than studied by an individual. Members read the lessons in full; this is the outline.

Presence and introductions

Arriving, being introduced, precedence, the bearing a house is known for.

· Arriving, and what a house does before a word is spoken
· Introducing people to each other, and being introduced
· Precedence, seating order and who walks in first
· State and formal occasions, and what the house owes them

The table

Seating, service, the order of a dinner, hosting and being hosted.

· Seating logic for a table of any size, and why it runs that way
· Glassware, cutlery order, napery and the clearing sequence
· The running order of a dinner, from the door to the last cup
· Host and guest duties, wine courtesy, and the end of the evening

III

Correspondence

Invitations, acceptances, regrets, thank-yous, condolences, and their digital equivalents.

· The shape of a formal letter, and the shape of a note
· Acceptances, regrets, and how quickly each is owed
· Thank-yous, congratulations and condolences
· Email tone, messaging, public persona and discretion

Presentation and dress

Dress codes decoded, restraint, what belongs in which room and season.

· White tie, black tie, black tie optional and morning dress, decoded
· Garden formal, resort, and what a private house may ask for
· Restraint: jewellery, scent, colour and the crowded room
· Packing for a house, a week and a set of occasions

Travel and receiving

Being received abroad, house guests, hotels, tipping and small courtesies.

· Being a house guest, and receiving one for a week
· Hotels, staff, and the small courtesies that are noticed
· Yachting and private aviation courtesy
· Tipping and regional variation, honestly labelled

Family and legacy

Teaching the standard across generations, and keeping its record.

· Deciding what this house stands for, in writing
· Teaching it by age band, without turning a home into a classroom
· Practice between generations, and what a guardian hands on
· Keeping the record: the handbook, the brief, the family year

How a strand is taught

Each lesson carries a summary, a reading time and its key points. The household takes one as the week’s practice, marks the one-line self-check, and settles what it actually does — which is then written into the Generational Handbook in the house’s own words.

The curriculum is a body of practice, not a qualification. It awards no certificate, and no member is ever ranked against another.

Begin at the threshold The seven studios

In one paragraph, for the record

The six strands of Institut Solène, in outline: presence and introductions, the table, correspondence, presentation and dress, travel and receiving, family and legacy. Each strand is taught as evergreen lessons rather than a course that ends, and the household’s own handbook records what it decided to keep.
Institut Solène · institutsolene.com