Did you know that La Côte International School (LCIS) offers both an international programme, leading to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme at graduation, and a bilingual English-French Swiss Maturité preparation programme? The programme at LCIS could certainly be of interest to families that want their children to have access to a more international and English-French bilingual environment than the public offers, who want to provide their child with the extra personalisation that comes with small class sizes and who want to keep the doors open to switch into the IB programme or be able to continue their studies in the Swiss Maturité in order to facilitate access to Swiss Universities (as well as any others of course).
We thought our readers would be interested to know about this innovative Suisse Maturité programme that provides the best of both worlds in terms of bilingualism and pedagogical approach. It is currently available to students aged 10 to 15 years old (grades 7 to 11 HarmoS). The Swiss Maturité curriculum is based on the plan d’études romand (PER) and provides students with a solid education, opening doors to higher education, including access to local Swiss universities.
The schedule of classes each week is evenly split between French and English instruction, with the addition of German courses, as required for the federal diploma. At LCIS, students in the Maturité section join those in the international curriculum for all of their courses in English. They also have the opportunity to participate in the variety of activities offered as part of the international curriculum, such as study trips, sports camps or international expeditions. This regular immersion not only promotes bilingualism, it also helps to develop social skills, creativity and a curiosity to learn.
The international day and boarding school located in Crans-Montana, Le Régent College, has recently been accredited as an authorised IB World School.
This means that from September 2018, students at the school will now have the option to study the IB Diploma Programme once they reach the age of 16. The IB Diploma Programme is a rigorous, academically challenging and balanced programme of education designed to prepare students for success at university and life beyond. It has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities for its high academic standards. Currently, more than 1.3 million IB students attend over 4,500 schools in 147 countries.
Describing the kind of attributes that they are looking for in an IB student at their school, Headmaster Didier Boutroux told knowitall.ch, “At Le Régent we aim to develop and educate young, internationally minded people through life experiences that allow them to develop as inquirers. We want them to be knowledgeable, open-minded thinkers and communicators, who are also caring, principled, balanced and reflective risk-takers.”
Academic Bursaries
To celebrate the launch of their new IB Diploma Programme, Le Régent College is offering a limited number of partial bursaries to students who they believe will contribute strongly to the academic, creative and boarding life of their international community. All bursaries will cover the two years of the course. If you would like your child to be part of the school’s first cohort of IB diploma students, click here for more information.
La Côte International School (LCIS) in Aubonne has just announced that it will launch a new, enhanced secondary curriculum in August 2018.
Combining the very best elements of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and iGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education), the new curriculum has been designed to help students prepare better for the rapidly changing demands of the modern world.
According to new incoming Principal, Mel Curtis, the best schools are now moving away from a traditional ‘one size fits all’ approach and are instead offering a bespoke programme of study that fits their context and their students better. She told knowitall.ch, “We live in a world where young people need to be equipped for so much more than just examination success - we are asking our youngsters to add value to the world, to change mindsets and to give something back.”
A bespoke programme combining the best elements of the MYP and iGCSE
From August 2018, LCIS students aged 14-16 years will follow a new curriculum, which will blend together the best of the MYP – reputed for its enquiry-based and student-led focus on creativity, independent learning, reflection, community and service - with the rigorous structure of the externally-validated iGCSE examination system, which is highly respected worldwide.
GEMS World Academy Switzerland (GWAS) has just appointed a new Head of School at its campus in Etoy.
With over 20 years of experience in international education and leadership, Dr. James Dalziel succeeds the former head, Catherine McKeever, who has now taken on a new project within the GEMS Education group.
An international education
A Canadian by birth, James Dalziel understands what it means to pursue an international education. Following his BA Special Honours from York University (Toronto) and Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, he went on to obtain both a Master of Education (Leadership) and a Doctor of Education (Policy) from the University of Western Australia, before receiving his most recent award, an MBA from the Schools of Economics at Aalto University and Helsinki, Finland.
For over 16 years he has been a Head of School, involved with all aspects of learning and daily operations. Following a period of six years as the Secondary Principal of the Canadian International School in Singapore, he spent four years as the Middle School Principal at United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA), and a further seven years as Head of East Campus at the same school.
Since we announced the arrival of new management at the Deux Mille Feuilles Bilingual Montessori School in La Rippe nearly 2 years ago, the school has gone from strength to strength.
Indeed only last year we reported on the special prize that the school received from the European Space Agency for a model the children had built of the International Space Station!
So successful has the concept been for 3 – 6 year olds, that the school is now set to open a new elementary class in August 2018 for 6 to 12 year olds that will follow the same Montessori principles as those in the younger years, but will still respect the Plan d’Etudes Romand (PER) for children attending school in this region.
