FAQ

Since 1924 when the International School of Geneva was founded, our school continues promoting humanistic values in an interactive, bilingual environment, while innovating teaching practices. We strive for the highest standards of academic excellence in a balanced range of subjects in an international context and an atmosphere of mutual respect. The school aims to help our children appreciate their own diversity so they can use this understanding to create a better world.

One school, three campuses

• La Grande Boissière, hosts over 1900 students from pre-school to 19 in its magnificent  green park located in the Grange-Canal quarter of Geneva.
• La Châtaigneraie, located in the Commune of Founex (Canton de Vaud), only 20km  from Geneva, hosts 1140 students through its primary and secondary programmes.
• Campus des Nations, open since September 2005 close to the United Nations area, is home to some 960 students, including our Early Years Centre at Pregny.

The school is accredited, for more information please visit the "About Ecolint" section.

With over 4000 students registered by September 2008, annually we welcome about 900 new students, from 3 years of age upwards.

These students, representing nearly 133 nationalities and 98 mother tongues, give an extraordinary cultural dimension to the life of our school. Many come from expatriate families although the proportion of long-term residents, Swiss or foreign, has increased considerably over the past few years.

We prepare students for four diplomas:

• Baccalauréat International (BI), French, English or bilingual
• Maturité suisse, French or bilingual (La Châtaigneraie campus only)
• International General Certificate of Secondary Education Cambridge (La Châtaigneraie campus only)
• Diplôme National du Brevet (La Châtaigneraie campus only)

For more details, visit our "Exams" pages.
 

We are justly proud that it was under the aegis of the International School of Geneva that the International Baccalaureate (IB) was developed during the 1960s. The school is also an examination centre for USA College Boards (e.g SAT, AP). The Guidance team will help the student decide what is appropriate.
 

We have currently 430 teachers representing 35 nationalities. All teachers at our school are fully qualified; many hold advanced degrees and have taught internationally. They share their broad international teaching experience and offer a wide variety of extracurricular skills.

The school offers Francophone, Anglophone and bilingual programmes.
As an extracurricular activity, foreign language classes can be arranged directly via the teacher and outside of normal class.

Whenever possible, register as early as possible and it is recommended that complete applications should be sent to Admissions. Usually places are made available after departures are announced, this is usually from April of each year.

All enquiries are considered individually taking into consideration several factors including:

• Placement in present school
• Previous changes during the student’s education
• Languages spoken
• Level of maturity and age

Check our website, Admissions, or email admissions@ecolint.ch or contact the admissions office, tel. +41 22 787 26 30, fax +41 22 787 26 32.
Address : Ecole Internationale de Genève, Admissions, 62 rte de Chêne, 1208 Geneva

Tuition fees range from SFr 15'885.- to SFr 27'255.- depending on the student's class year.
The Admissions office is available to provide further details.

The International School of Geneva is a non-profit Foundation established under Swiss law. Its manner of governance is laid down in a Charter and Regulations approved by the Federal Department of the Interior. The Governing Board, consisting of twelve elected members, is the highest authority which administers the Foundation. It defines the vision and strategy of the school and sets its financial objectives. The Director General of the Foundation is the Executive head and educational leader of the Foundation’s school.

Dr Nicholas Tate has been the Director General of the International School of Geneva since 2003. Prior to this appointment, he was Headmaster of Winchester College, one of England's oldest and highest achieving schools. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Tate was the chief adviser to the Secretary of State for Education.

There are wainting lists in most years. We do however see many students arrive and depart throughout the school year so it is always worth contacting us to discuss availability of places.

Places will be allocated by first choice of campus. However, we strongly recommend you to indicate on the application form a second choice of campus.

The school may request further relevant information or administer placement tests or request an extra interview if deemed necessary.

Across the Foundation from primary to secondary the aim is to have classes limited to 24 studentsand to 18 for IB courses.

The school has an excellent counseling service on each campus to help the students through the complex process of choosing universities and colleges.

Two of our campuses are set either in parks or among fields. The buildings are a potpourri of old and new from a 17th Château to newly built classes in 2005. Whilst our newst campus, Campus des Nations, is a modern architectural jewel.

Education facilities across campuses typically include gym facilities, theatre and art workshops, computing rooms, libraries, multimedia centres.

These activities are organized on each campus such as sports, theatre, choir, orchestra and language classes.
 

The School provides a transport service mornings and afternoons. Tariffs and itineraries can be found in the Financial Conditions brochure upon admissions. In addition, the Geneva campuses are easily accessible by public transport.

Our website is updated regularly. Visit the "news" section and the "Calendar" or contact the school secretariats and the teachers. There are also boards located on the campuses where posters and ads are available.

What are the Learning Centres ?
The predominantly Anglophone Campus des Nations offers 3 Learning Centres for children from age 3 to 18 with moderate to severe special learning needs, a provision which we believe is unique in Geneva and its region. The ratio of student to teaching staff is 8/2 with each student beneficiary from an independent learning programme and access to acceptance therapy, speech therapy and physiotherapy as necessary.

They are located at the Campus des Nations, 11 rte des Morillons, 1218 Grand-Saconnex. Contact: Tel. +41 22 770 47 00.

More details

We provide support for non-English mother-tongue students. These programmes aim to develop the students' English proficiency as rapidly as possible to permit full participation in all academic and social aspects of school life.

There are no boarding facilities.