A bilingual Swiss school, Ecole La Découverte, catering for children aged 3 to 12, has just announced the opening of a new campus in Mies, scheduled for September 2017. Founded in the early 90s, this small, private school has grown in 25 years from just 13 pupils to 230, and has now increased its English-language teaching to a 50/50 bilingual level, following its recent expansion into new premises at the heart of the international quarter.
Key to the success of Ecole La Découverte has been the practice of active pedagogy, an approach which prioritizes enquiry-based learning through projects that aim to foster self-confidence, autonomy and the capacity to think for oneself. The school leadership team explained, “Our students begin by posing questions and brainstorming an activity. A process of investigation then leads to a final outcome, generated by the children. The subject matter of each project is ideally stimulated by their own interests. The students also have regular philosophy sessions, from 4 years onwards, and they participate in resolving problems and suggesting class projects in weekly class council meetings.”
They continued, "At the end of Primary, our children have learnt, in addition to the knowledge of the language, much broader skills, as they have been studying all the objectives in both languages. Furthermore, the knowledge the children has acquired in learning English, facilitates their learning of German, which is taught from the age of 8, through the Harmos program. As part of the extra-curricular program, there is also the possibility to take part in activities in Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic.”
As part of its current drive to recruit qualified and capable teachers for its children’s language courses, Key English School (KES) is offering free training to candidates who are able to sign up for a 2-year part-time teaching contract, starting in September!
In keeping with the school’s philosophy that "children learn best when they're having fun", applicants must be dynamic, friendly and positive. New members of the KES team are also expected to be flexible, responsible and hardworking. Successful candidates must, of course, enjoy teaching children, and be able to manage different levels of ability and a variety of activities in an action-packed lesson.
The free training course is intended for those without previous experience who wish to enter the profession and for teachers who wish to enhance their qualifications. Trainees will be continuously guided, monitored and assessed in all areas of the syllabus, including planning, classroom management and teaching skills, so that they will always feel encouraged and supported.
At the end of their training, successful candidates will receive an IH CTEFL – the International House Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Internationally recognized, this certificate is awarded by the International House World Organization, a global network of 160 schools in 52 countries, including ASC Education Group, parent company of Key English School. For newly qualified teachers, the certificate will open doors to an exciting and varied career in the global EFL industry, and will provide graduates with access to many teaching opportunities, not just those within the network of International House affiliated schools.
Two parents in Vaud have recently taken over the management of the Ecole Montessori Nyon for the age group 3 to 6, to allow the school to focus more on the needs of parents and to ensure high quality AMI Montessori education for their children and those of other parents.
Renamed Deux Mille Feuilles, the school will cater for the needs of children aged up to 6 years, and will offer a unique bilingual version of the popular Montessori approach to education.
Cornelia Tosch, co-Director with two daughters at the school, told knowitall.ch, “We believe in child-centered education, that values and develops the whole child – physical, emotional, social and cognitive. At our school, children do not learn for the moment, but gain a preparation for life. Our children not only learn to respect themselves, but as well to respect others. For us building self-assurance, developing trust in others and learning to respect go hand-in-hand. We have built the school around 3 main pillars: high quality bilingual Montessori education; nature and health; and care and service for children and parents.”
The school believes that full bilingual immersion is the most natural way to acquire a new language, so children spend one week immersed in English followed by a second week in French. There are two identical classrooms, one with English Montessori material, the other with French. Children alternate on a weekly basis between the English and French teachers, who are native speakers and AMI Montessori certified. The school follows the one-person-one-language principle so children can link one language to every person.
A new reception class is scheduled to open in September 2016 at Le Régent Crans-Montana College. Featured on our website during both the construction stage and subsequent opening in September 2015, Le Régent Crans Montana College is an independent British international day and boarding school that welcomes boys and girls aged 4 to 18.
Head Master, Didier Boutroux, told knowitall.ch, ‘We are delighted to announce that we will be accepting children from the age of 4 from September 2016 at Le Régent College. This is due to increased popularity of the Junior School and to accommodate the legal requirement for children to go to school from the age of 4.”
The Reception Class will be staffed by fully qualified teachers and housed in the brand new Junior School building which offers a creative, purposeful and safe learning environment for young children.
© Marie Contreras
Open Day and Information Sessions being held in June.
Following the arrival of its new Director, Patrick Parquet, in 2012, the design and communication school, IPAC Design Genève, has undergone a major overhaul – not just in terms of the courses offered, but also how they are taught, and who teaches them.
Eager to present his new school to both the local and expat communities, Patrick is holding a series of Information Sessions in June as well as a special Open Day on Saturday 4 June 2016 where visitors will have the opportunity to see presentations on the different courses available, meet the teachers who are delivering the courses, and request tours of the school.
So how has the school changed in the 4 years that Patrick has been at the helm? Knowitall.ch went to visit IPAC Design Genève at the beginning of May to find out more.
Without doubt, one of the biggest transformations to the school can be seen in the teaching staff. Lessons are now taught by professionals working in the the fields of Digital Media, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Fashion Design. Far from teaching purely academic disciplines, these creative professionals have been tasked with providing students with the toolkits they need to work in industry. So not only do they leave the school with a recognized qualification within the design and communications industries, they also have the skillset to get started on the job straight away. So employers know when they recruit students from IPAC Design Genève, that they won’t need to spend hours training them on the job.
