I was wondering if anybody could tell me about their experience of some schools that I am looking at.
Le Rosey
TASIS
Leysin
Monte Rosa
A little bit of background- the potential pupil has been in hospital but is now out and in an English school, she would be joining for the IB and before her year long admission, was an intelligent student who has had experience of international schools in London. I have heard many mixed reviews about all the schools however I wanted to find one that would tailor to her individual needs. A school which is academically rigorous yet has strong pastoral care and opportunities to discover more of the world. She has a strong interest in charity and has been volunteering for a long time and a school which could nurture this interest further would be great. Has anybody had any personal experience of any of these schools and their programmes?
I have a few friends who went to Le Rosey and I believe it was a reasonable place.
I have personal experience with Institut Montana Zugerberg which I recommend (boarding and IB)
I can also recommend the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) which is one of the top schools for IB, with historically great results. However, they do not have boarding options so that may be a deal-breaker for you.
Hi, I am a parent of two students at TASIS and I am glad to provide you information about the school and our experience there. We are in our fourth year at the school and I have two boys there, both of them in the MS.
Your post is very wide and I find it hard to provide you with information that may be relevant to you, but please feel free to ask any specific information.
By way of some preliminary information, I can say that International schools in Switzerland offer a different experience from a British Boarding school.
TASIS is a very international environment, with over 60 different nationalities.
Students travel extensively, either for Academic travel in Europe, or as part of the service learning that is compulsory in the IB program.
Our experience so far has been very positive and I have friends that have boarding students at the school so I am familiar with that experience too, so please feel free to ask more questions.
I will private message you with contact info for a friend of mine who is an independent educational consultant. Her expertise is helping students who have learning differences or mental health issues find appropriate school placements. She is based in the US now but has lived all over the world, works with students internationally, and has toured Swiss boarding schools recently. Here is a recent article she wrote after that tour.
I wanted to ask specifically about experiences of mental health and pastoral support in any of the aforementioned schools.
I also wanted to know what the admission process' are like at any of the schools, are there admissions at any point in the year or should the application go in before a certain date?
The article attached was very helpful, thank you very much for that and I look forward to read the remaining part of the article.
I have some experience of the international school in Leysin. The principles, teaching and leisure activities are very good. They used to have a teacher that was specifically assigned to look after the pastoral care of students with psychological difficulties and I imagine that is still the case.
The school is highly multicultural but the main thing to take into consideration about this school is that nearly all the children are from VERY wealthy backgrounds. If the student does not have a similar upbringing, she will probably find that it will adversely affect her condition.
The fees are fairly high but if you have been paying for a similar international school, they should not be a deterrent. Although the students are officially allowed a certain amount of pocket money, in practice they are slipped much more by their parents and it is invariably spent on luxury goods. She would be at a disadvantage if she did not get the same.
The best thing is to go and visit and talk to the headmaster - they will be pleased to show you around. Put to him straight your concerns. Talk to some students if you can - not necessarily the ones selected for your visit.
For somebody that is sensitive or vulnerable, this type of school, although caring, is a competitive environment with students whose success is practically guaranteed, irrespective of their academic performance. You may be better off considering other options.
Thank you for the informative response, the student in question has had a similar, international upbringing and would certainly not be at a monetary disadvantage, the concern is her sensitivity, she has never attended a boarding school however has thrived under competitive environments in day schools. I would like to know what the social aspects of the school are like. Thank you for the advice, I will contact the headmaster and enquire if the psychological support teacher is still around.
How does this young person feel about the prospect of boarding? She has clearly been through a rough time that involved hospitalisation (you didn't say what for specifically but with this age of female whether specifically physical or mental health, all aspects if ber being will be involved). I would imagine she needs an environment where she feels enough freedom to grow into her next stage of maturity, yet the security to do so at her speed.
Boarding works for some, is great for some, and others can be the trigger to more problems on top of the demands faced as a young teen in a challenging time of life both personally and academically. I do not write this thinking you haven't considered the pros/cons - more as a personal reaction to a situation we found ourselves in 4 years ago involving our daughter's education, and are still working on helping her towards a positive outcome.
PM me if you want - i am happy to share our experiences/thoughts etc.
The other thing I wonder, given the OP has a London location and the concerned student is currently in the UK, is what the particular interest or expectation is for a boarding school in CH. If boarding school is the choice it might be worth considering options in the UK, where she might be closer to home, or to the medical care she has been receiving should problems arise or follow-up be part of her treatment. Granted the range of options and provision/culture is vast so careful research and visits would be necessary.
On the other hand, there may be very specific reasons for her not to be in the UK. I would listen very carefully to her own wishes, worries and "wonderings".
We don't really know enough about your circumstances to be able to give you specific advice but Tasebo is right on several counts.
Firstly, what does she think about attending boarding school in a foreign country away from her guardians/parents. Boarding school can be hard for some children, add to that the separation and her sensitivity and it could spell problems.
Are you considering Switzerland simply because of its good reputation or will the parents/guardians be coming to work here, if so where. In the latter case, there may be a school where day boarding is possible and she can get the support that she needs from home.
I would add that we sent our elder child to boarding school in Switzerland and on the basis of our experiences, sent the younger one to a good boarding school in England. It all depends on their individual personalities as too what is best suited for them
The interest in a boarding school in CH comes from the student and there are specific reasons for a move from the UK. The initial plan was to attend a boarding school in CH and have regular medical appointments in Switzerland, and that's what brought me onto this forum and I am very grateful for all the responses and concerns raised, the decision has been thought about in great detail and we are going ahead and applying to four of the schools that I have received advice on.
Thank you very much for the information both on the thread and by personal message, it is very much appreciated and has helped a great deal.