Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is a Wizarding school located in the Palace of Beauxbatons near the city of Cannes in southern France. Beauxbatons's current Headmistress is Madame Olympe Maxime. The school Coat of Arms is two golden wands crossed over one another, each shooting three stars. The name provided here is presumably an Anglicised version of a French original.

The School
Beauxbatons is similar to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Academy has existed for over seven hundred years. During the 1994–1995 school year, a delegation of senior Beauxbatons students and their Headmistress stayed near Hogwarts Castle in Scotland to participate in a new Triwizard Tournament. The group arrived in a pastel blue coach pulled by twelve huge, winged horses. The carriage door was embossed with the golden coat of arms and opened to reveal golden steps. The horses also were golden-coloured, with red eyes, and fed on single-malt whiskey. The Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid took care of the winged horses. From October until the end of the school year, the entire delegation stayed on Hogwarts grounds, sleeping and presumably studying inside the coach, and eating in the Hogwarts Great Hall. The school champion was Fleur Delacour, who was unsuccessful in her challenge for the Triwizard Cup.

The Palace
The Academy is a glittering palace, most probably newer and brighter than the Hogwarts castle. Both Hogwarts and Durmstrang are in castles; however, Fleur Delacour described Beauxbatons as a palace. The food at Beauxbatons, at least according to Fleur, is delicious, but much lighter than the food served at Hogwarts. Students are serenaded while they dine by choirs of wood nymphs. At Christmas time the dining hall is adorned with great, non-melting ice sculptures. Beauxbatons is Unplottable, so no Muggles or even wizards from rival schools can find it on a map, and then it is disguised so that no one can really see it unless they know to look for it.

Some have speculated that since bouillabaisse was served at the opening feast of the Triwizard Tournament, and this fish soup is generally served in south-east France, Beauxbatons could be somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, perhaps near Marseille. Also, Hagrid tells Harry, Hermione and Ron that he pretended to go towards Beauxbatons to shake off followers (while going to find giants), then told Professor Umbridge that he had been in southern France. This would also explain why Beauxbatons students are so cold when they are at Hogwarts. Beauxbatons uniforms are made of light blue silk. Other indicators are perceived accents and the confirmed ethnicity of student Fleur Delacour. For example, Fleur says "ze" instead of "the" which is commonplace for French people speaking English.

Beauxbatons students stand at attention from when their Headmistress enters the room until she seats herself. They also seem to care more about their studies and their school's reputation than Hogwarts.

According to Fleur Delacour, Beauxbatons students take their exams (presumably comparable to O.W.L.s at Hogwarts) after six years of study instead of five.

Known students

 * Fleur Delacour - Triwizard Champion of Beauxbatons during the Triwizard Tournament in 1994.
 * Gabrielle Delacour - Fleur Delacour's younger sister.
 * Unidentified Headteacher of Beauxbatons - attended Triwizard Tournament of 1792
 * Olympe Maxime - Headmistress of Beauxbatons
 * Various other students
 * Ministry Witch

Etymology
Beauxbatons was likely devised from the French "beaux bâtons," literally translated as "beautiful sticks"; however in French the word "bâton" is also used to mean "wand."

Behind the scenes

 * Only three residents of Beauxbatons have been named, and coincidentally, all three are some form of Half-breed.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Beauxbatons appears to be an all-girl school. However, the book makes scattered references to male Beauxbatons students.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Beauxbatons is pronounced wrong. Dumbledore says boh-BAT-tons, but in reality, if Beauxbatons is a French school, it would be pronounced BOH-bat-tons. This appears to be an error of pronunciation on Dumbledore's behalf, seeing as the French students pronounce it correctly.
 * In the movie, the Beauxbatons Coat of Arms is a shield surrounded by golden lines whereas in the book it is two crossed wands emitting three stars each. However, these wands can be seen at the top of the film-version Coat of Arms.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it is said that Gabrielle Delacour is already a Beauxbatons student, but in the book of Deathly Hallows, it is said Gabrielle is eleven, so she would be starting the year to come. It is also possible, though, that Beauxbatons starts earlier than Hogwarts, since it is an individual school with many differences when compared to Hogwarts.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book