September 2018 saw the launch of new coding classes at the Brillantmont International School in Lausanne, Switzerland. In partnership with TechSpark Academy and EPFL all grade 8 and 9 students are now learning computer programming as part of their core school curriculum. Some schools offer this as an after school club, but Brillantmont is the only school in Switzerland to make this course a compulsory part of the learning program.
Over the course of this year, grade 8 students will be building and programming robots using Arduino technology. Meanwhile, grade 9 students are going to be creating their own games and phone applications using the Python programming language.
John Kennedy, Maths Co-Ordinator, writes, "The desire for students to be developing connections between science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, the STEAM fields, has created excitement for the coming school year. The aim is for them to develop the critical thinking skills needed find creative solutions to real-world problems using a basis of science and mathematics. Brillantmont students are going to be in a fantastic position to make the leap into our technological future."
These courses will surely be popular as exciting additions to the STEAM subject syllabus at Brillantmont International School develop.
Brillantmont International School
Avenue Secrétan 16
1005 Lausanne
Switzerland
021 310 04 00
https://www.brillantmont.ch
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Do you want to learn French but feel overwhelmed by the number of organizations offering French language lessons in this region? Are you required to reach a certain level of French for your job, or do you want to pass the Swiss citizenship naturalisation exam? Have you even thought about whether you want to take lessons in the classroom, online tutorials from home or a combination of both?
When it comes to learning French, there are so many options available to you in the Lake Geneva region that it can actually be very hard choosing between them all – especially if you don’t know what your learning style is, or whether you can be free at the same time every week for a tutorial.
To help you get over this initial hurdle and smooth your path towards effective and efficient language learning, Learn French Geneva draws on the expertise of 17 different teachers and a bespoke website offering nearly 3000 exercises to help people of all ages learn French the way THEY want!
Flexible teaching methods
Founded in 2010 by Anouche Karaman, Learn French Geneva provides private or small group lessons for adults, teens and children either at home or at work. All new students are matched with a teacher whose expertise and interests most closely match their needs. So, whether you are looking for one-to-one tuition on a weekly basis or an intensive 1 or 2 week-long course that will give your French a boost right from the start, Learn French Geneva will adapt their teaching methods to suit your needs.
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.
Photo by Hazal Uzuner/Shutterstock.com
Of all the themes that we are asked to cover on our website, education has to be one of the most popular. Given the international nature of our readership, coming from such a diverse range of educational backgrounds, it’s no surprise that there are so many opinions on this hotly debated topic!
And with such a variety of options now available to parents in this region – public or private, local or international - it is often difficult for parents to sift through the mountain of information available and make the best choice for their child.
Some parents, however, know exactly what they want for their child, especially if they have an older sibling who has been through the system. They understand what works and doesn’t work for their family, and have all kinds of ideas about how things can be improved.
If you would like to share your views on the things that really matter, especially when it comes to selecting an international school in the Lake Geneva region, then we have the perfect opportunity for you to voice your opinion!
The market research company, ORC International, is conducting a survey and is inviting parents to give their views on a range of issues relating to international primary and secondary school selection. The survey will address questions such as:
- What information did you use when researching international schools in Geneva?
- What were the best sources and which ones had a significant influence on your final international school choice?
- What are the key things you look for in an international school?
- Are your expectations and your child’s needs being met? In which areas could international schools be doing better?
- What is your perception of international schools in Geneva?
If you feel passionate about international school education and would like to get involved in the discussion, either via a survey or focus group, click here for more information. It’s all online, so no matter where you are, or what time of day it is, you can participate at a time and place that suits you.
And if you need any more motivation to participate, ORC will offer a special incentive to thank all those who take part in the online focus group and who qualify!
