GEMS Etoy versus ISL International School Lausanne

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hi,

We are considering an alternative for our 10 year old son who is not motivated by the local Swiss school. All they do is train grammar and math with no attempt to use themes to make it interesting for the kids.

We have found the curiosity oriented International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes contain what we are looking for. Two such schools roughly equidistant to us are GEMS World Academy in Etoy and International School Lausanne (ISL). Both being IB taught in English with classes in French, they seems very similar in curriculum.

Does anyone have opinions, experiences etc to compare and distinguish the two?

What are the differences? Which one is better (in your view) etc?

Thank you very much in advance

Henrik

2
Not qualified to reply but from colleagues who know ISL they say it's a good school. Don't know GEMS to comment.

Are you in a position to maybe visit them both and draw your own conclusions? Maybe talk to staff etc if they have an opening day.

3
In a couple of years from now, you might need to explain your son that you chose his school based on a poll on an anonymous forum...

4
Thanks for rapid responses.

We will visit both. But it is often useful to know others' opinions. They could highlight aspects and questions we should pay attention to during visits etc.

I doubt the poll would reach statistically significant participation before we have made our choice, but could be interesting indication for other people having same question.

Jokingly: Rather than poll we could decide based on pool - GEMS has one, ISL to my understanding doesn't.

Cheers,

5
Is GEMS the one just along the busy highway? Quite a location...

6
We are looking at private schools for a different reason in a different canton but the Germainde will fund it as they can not provide what my son needs. It has been a long road to get to this point but maybe you should discuss the problem with his teacher and school psychologist. In our case there is a committee of 6 looking at what option is best for the new year, it has taken time, patience and a lot of pushing to get to this point. There is a lot of support available in the local school but you have to ask and push for it, a simple change of teacher can make a world of difference.

So in our research for private schools, they like everything else here are different, there are a huge range of options in this field from gifted students to special needs as well as the international options. I would try to analyse the child's need that is not being met and then look at what options there are. The "best" school may not be best for your child's needs. Damn hard being a parent nowadays!!

7
Hi hmronnow,

you are right that is a good idea to visit the schools, several times if possible, as it is only by seeing a school in action that you will get an intuitive feel about whether it is the right place for your child to learn and be happy.

I can give you some general observations on the two schools, as I agree that on paper they do look similar in terms of the curriculum that they teach. I keep my thoughts factual as choosing a school is a very personal decision, and as I always say to parents, there is no "best school" but there is certainly the best school choice for your child.

Firstly, both schools are true IB schools meaning that they follow the IBO curriculum from start to finish, so from this point of view they are very similar. More details about the curriculum here http://www.ibo.org/programmes/primar...me/curriculum/

The foundations of the schools are very different. At ISL they are a not for profit foundation, set up to educate the children of expats moving to the area. They have special agreements in place with a number of employers and usually have a waiting list for places. At GEMS the school was founded in 2013, so is a new school and is still building up the number of students. It is also a for profit school, part of a global chain of school, over 70 I think, in the middle east, asia and all over the world. An important question for you is which kind of approach to education you prefer? It is important as it does make a big difference in the way a school is run.

The length of time a school is established also makes a difference to the education offered. In a newer school you are likely to get smaller classes and higher teacher:student ratios as the classes are not yet full. Yet in an established school, it has had a chance to bed down, build a senior management and teaching team that are loyal to the school. The character of a school also takes time to build.

The situation of the schools is also very different, ISL a more countryside campus and GEMS is off the motorway in a more industrial zone. That being said there is a lot at GEMS to compensate for its position. From a facilities point of view it is really incredible and no school can match it, but ISL facilities are also way above average, even if not in quite the same league.

Another school in the area that follows the IB programme in the senior school and is soon to introduce the Matu is La Cote School. Very different to both schools you have mentioned in your post so worth visiting if it is in the right location for you.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

8
We are very happy with GEMS Etoy. Their teaching is excellent, class size great and they have fantastic facilities. Their sports centre is brilliant. We transferred from a GEMS school in the Middle East and yes, the GEMS group is for profit, but we like their ethos and the way the schools are run.

Good luck with your decision.

9
I find GEMS super tempting from the outside, but it's so super expensive also! How do people manage who aren't helped by their companies or have a scholarship! And living in Geneva, it's also quite far.

But the campus is soooooo nice....

10
Collège du Martinet and Collège des Buttes.

Both are excellent, allow for integration with the local community and have the added advantage (should one need it) of being funded by the state.

11
Dear Everyone,

This post was helpful for us , as we want to evalualte between these two schools - Gems World Academy or ISL International School Lausanne.

We request more people to share their feedback / Review on these schools.

Also we would like to know what all are the other reputed schools in Nyon/Lausannearea. (English Speaking for Expats).

Thanks,

SP

12
Reviving an old post. News is emerging that GEMS Etoy will be closing down at the end of the current academic year.

https://www.lacote.ch/articles/regio...a-porte-844507

Quite sad, really. Whenever I visited the school it always seemed a happy (if somewhat underpopulated) school with a great staff.

Difficult times ahead for a lot of staff and children.

13
It’s devastating and was handled very badly. Parents are scrambling to find places for their children at other schools, not to mention staff who are going to find it hard to find positions at this late stage of the school year. It was all very last minute.

14
Yeah. I have friends who work there and devastated would not be too strong a word to describe their reaction.

There are staff who have to find jobs and there are kids - some of whom are in the first year of the IB or about to start the IB - who need to find schools very quickly in one of the most competitive markets out there.

15
It’s hardly a surprise, it’s been a well known fact that it never reached any of the goals it set out with for pupils/revenue

16
Yeah, not a surprise at all, actually surprised that it lasted so long. Saw it as a red flag from day one. Always profits and advertising were more important than pupils.

And if you look around the area, there were always schools that came and went, while others were successful and stayed. I'd say the common dénominateur of the successful ones were that they started small and grew organically. This one threw that out the window and came with a huge bang and multimillion dollar campus from day one that was much beyond anything seen here. Maybe it's a winning game plan in other countries but never really understood or wanted to adapt to the Swiss market.

17
Does anyone know what they are doing with the sports facilities? For instance would the swimming pool be open to the public? It's one of the few covered pools in the area that I know about and would be a shame to let it go to waste by not being used...

18
Only what's in this article from June: https://www.24heures.ch/vaud-regions...story/11340261

19

This one is well tied up with bankruptcy and ownership issues....it won't be opening any time soon, plus who would be responsible for maintained, upkeep, surveillance etc etc

20
true, and that's a shame... they should look for a corporate sponsor - there's always a tax deal to be had in Switzerland