Switzerland’s ultra-exclusive Institut Le Rosey, known as the “School of Kings,” has added a 94-foot solar-electric catamaran dubbed Ipharra to its extracurricular offerings for teaching marine science.
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Rosey → know → science
The school’s former director Phillipe Gudin purchased the superyacht last month at the 2026 Monaco Yacht Show for $17 million, and insists the high-end vessel — delivered to the school this month — is worth every penny.
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vessel → purchase → school
“For us, the boat is a real platform for giving those young people an opportunity to discover something new, and perhaps to find a passion.”
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boat → give → passion
Gudin said at a press conference after the show.
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Gudin → say → show
The custom-built Ipharra has six guest cabins for the 10 teens who get to call it their floating classroom.
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who → build → it
Parents, who pay nearly $200,000 a year in tuition, have to fork out another $20,000 for the two-week voyage, hosted by a full-time staff of five.
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who → pay → five
The students are surrounded by luxury — including plush, natural linen sofas, authentic oak floors, an elegant oak dining table big enough to seat the whole class and a coffee bar wrapped in panoramic glass windows for natural light.
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students → surround → light
The bedrooms are custom built with exotic Wenge wood, a dense hardwood from the endangered Millettia laurentii tree in West Africa.
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bedrooms → build → Africa
There’s even a retractable, state-of-the-art movie screen that transforms the yacht’s swanky salon into a floating classroom with a screen big enough for movies at night.
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that → ’ → night
After class, students can head to the yacht’s sprawling Ocean Lounge, where fold-down balconies create an expansive waterside beach club, making it effortless for students to dive, swim, sunbathe and socialize.
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students → head → club
“Because we use the boat with students, we also wanted a large outdoor area close to the sea that would be easy to use for diving and for the sailing dinghies,” said Gudin.
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Gudin → use → dinghies
The two-week voyage, part of Le Rosey’s Excellence Camp for teens 13 to 16, has the pint-size billionaires-to-be studying ocean conservation, marine biology, renewable energy and responsible resource management as they cruise Mediterranean and Caribbean waters.
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they → have → waters
The yacht is covered in solar skin — thin, flexible panels layered over glass that convert sunlight into electricity.
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that → cover → electricity
Ipharra is emissions-free, powered by electric motors that make for whisper-quiet, vibration-free cruising.
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that → power → cruising
The school maintains a private Nautical Centre on Lake Geneva for smaller boats like motorboats, and paddleboards, but the Ipharra remains stationed at sea in coastal marinas within its active cruising grounds.
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Ipharra → maintain → grounds
The latest Ipharra is an upgrade for the original model, which the school had been using since 2010.
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school → use → 2010
The famously posh Swiss institution — founded in 1880 — has spent generations educating royalty, celebrities and the children of the fabulously wealthy.
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institution → found → wealthy
Its roughly 400 students, ages 8 to 18, hail from more than 60 countries with no more than 10% coming from a single nation.
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% → hail → nation
Although the school keeps its current list of students under close wraps for security purposes, distinguished alumni include Prince Rainier of Monaco, King Farouk of Egypt, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Elizabeth Taylor’s children.
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alumni → keep → Spain
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, attended in the 1950s.
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Edward → attend → 1950s
Students spend the fall and spring at main campus in Rolle, overlooking Lake Geneva.
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Students → spend → Geneva
But when winter rolls around, the entire school packs up and relocates to a second campus in the glamorous Alpine resort of Gstaad so students can enjoy world-class skiing.
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students → roll → skiing
The Aporia
