IB Schools in Nyon or Lausanne

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Dear Everyone,

We are relocating to Switzerland in coming March.

Currently We are looking for a good IB school either in Nyon or Lausanne .

For our daughter - 10 years old - we want your review /feedback on the schools of this region. As of now two schools are good We suppose.

- Gems World Academy

- ISL

Which one do you suggest ? Also let us know any other IB schools which we can think of. My child is new for french and we would prefer English Speaking school.

Definitely we will visit the school before finalizing - But your opinion/suggestion/feedback really matters to us. Thanks in advance.

2

Have you done a search in this section of the forum for those schools to find any threads about them?

3
Yes , I have done a bit research . Also seen some posts in this forum. But wanted more information - If anyone willing to share.That will be a very big help to us.

Besides these two schools Gems & ISL - we are trying to gather information about other IB schools in this region.

Thanks in Advance.

4
I would suggest GES, Geneva English School.

It's been an English primary school for 50 years and is now also a secondary school.

It's a wonderful, warm, caring school.

It doesn't prepare for the IB though, it has adopted the "A levels" system instead.

5
The key to making your decision is the academic future of your children and your financial means in the future.

Academic: if your children are confident students and that you expect them to make it to an IB with sufficiant points at age 18, then you should probably stick to IB schools - if, of course, you think that you will move often in the near future. It is very difficult for adolescents to change school systems, and changing languages is often a disaster, when they are also expected to learn maths, literature, history, etc. at the same time.

You might want to make a clear planning of your children's future years of studies and the options.

Financial: if for any reason the school fees become unreasonable for your budget (or not paid anymore by your employer), you should think about the options, and they are few: it's normally public school in the local language. This can be OK for younger children, but for adolescents it may jeopardize their future, as they cannot follow the higher (pre-university) tier because of the lack of language mastery. (In Vaud many end-up with apprenticeships because of the language barrier, even if they are intellectually brilliant).

Some private schools offer bilingual options, and there are also bilingual schools; this is definitely a safety net, since the children would be able to study in two language equally. But do check the effectiveness of the langage mastery, since many school say that they are bilingual but the students are not.

On what concerns International Schools in Switzerland, since about 15 years international investment groups have discovered that they could make good profit from them. Some ancient private schools have been sold to the (Hong Kong based) Nord Anglia group, etc.

This does not mean that teaching is bad, and awsome teachers can also be found in very much for profit schools. However, it's like going to a Mariott or a Hilton hotel: you will certainly get the service you want for a very high fee, everything will look fantastic, but teaching is not their only core business.

I agree that the Geneva English School is a very good option; it is not "international" and the academic level is splendid. If you intend to stay in Geneva, this in certainly a good option.

Good luck!

6
Thank you for your reply quetzalcoatl.After few research we are almost finalizing the school International School of Geneva - La Chat campus which is at Founex.

It’s a bilingual program till Year 6 and from year 7 kids can choose either French or English and 10th it’s IB board .

What’s your feedback on this school ?

Thanks ,

7
Hello!

This is probably a good option. I had family there recently and the feedback was: the school is generally very good; the "problem" (if that's one) is that it's huge. Teachers are generally very good and highly qualified; students are very well taken care of, etc.

On the other hand: bilingual section was not very bilingual. But that's something you will only be able to check once you are there.

8
Thanks a lot .Felt so happy to see your positive feedback for La Chat .

Yes my only fear for La Chat is bilingual abs my child is new to French language.

Coming week we have a visit planned for the school , which will help us to conclude fully . But as of now we are 70-80 % on with this school choice and we have mostly positive reviews .

Thanks .