Year 1 have enjoyed combining their knowledge of History with their scientific thinking. From studying houses through time and learning to think like historians to designing and making their own houses using sensible material choices, they have become masters of new vocabulary in both English and French.

Our little architects have been able to explain the scientific thinking behind their material choices, with comments such as, “Glass, because the light can go through it” and “Brick, because it is strong.” When comparing houses from different periods and designing their own homes, they were also able to label key features in French, including “porte“, “fenêtre” and “toit“.

Well done, Year 1! You have worked brilliantly and shown fantastic curiosity, creativity and scientific thinking.

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In their Science lessons, Year 3 students have been using magnifying glasses to identify differentiating features in rocks. They began by describing what they saw and felt and how they might group and classify each sample: a first step before taking their explorations further and learning how to categorise the rocks as metamorphic, igneous or sedimentary rock.

See photos here.

Year 4 authors have been using their word banks to complete short burst writing activities. By filling in missing adjectives to build expanded noun phrases, they practised making their descriptions far more interesting, learning how precise word choices can improve their storytelling.

We can’t wait to read your written productions!

Photos available here.

In their unit on Forces, our Year 5 scientists have been investigating whether mass affects friction. By gradually increasing the mass of a bottle of water, they were able to measure friction using a Newton meter as they pulled the load across four different surfaces. This experiment enabled them to visualise the contact force that opposes movement when two surfaces rub together.

See photos here.

Year 9 thespians had fun yesterday in their practical exploration of site-specific theatre. Working in different locations of the Secondary campus, each tableau had a mystery twist and copious amounts of tension and suspense!

Well done, all!

View photos here.

Students from across Secondary have continued their practical learning in their Science lessons this week, with some fascinating experiments organised in our labs:

Year 7 scientists have taken an even deeper dive into the microscopic world and observed stomata belonging to the plant Tradescantia, a species that has the particularity of having very distinctive cells.

In Year 9, investigations have added another type of separation technique to our students’ list of skills: chromatography using felt pens, and whatever other inks they could use from their pencil cases, to observe how the water travelling through the paper carried the pigments across different distances.

The iodine clock reaction was on everyone’s lips in Year 10, an experiment used to investigate how different conditions of acidity or alkalinity affect the activity of the enzyme amylase during digestion. Iodine produces a blue-black colour when starch is present, while in the absence of starch, iodine retains its yellowish-brown colour.

This week was marked by the first Year 12 Chemistry required practical of the year: to make a standard solution of sodium hydrogen sulfate. Students were exposed to new equipment including volumetric pipettes and digital mass balances, all designed to enhance the level of precision in the lab.

As part of learning how to identify aldehydes in A Level Chemistry, our Year 13 students carried out two qualitative tests: Fehling’s Test, in which the colour turns orange in the presence of aldehydes, and the Silver Mirror Test, in which a “silver mirror” is formed in the presence of an aldehyde.

Year 13 biologists carried out their first practical of the year too! As part of their study of enzymes, they investigated the effect of different temperatures on the rate of activity of trypsin, an enzyme which breaks down casein in milk (thus rendering the milk colourless).

Our Primary students were treated to some fantastic speeches this week by candidates to the School Council elections. Standing bravely in front of their classmates and presenting convincing arguments as to why they should be elected, our candidates truly impressed us and the vote is certainly going to be a tough one!

We can’t wait to find out who has been elected!

See photos here.

In Tutor Time this week, Year 9 student Arun gave a fascinating presentation entitled “Does exercise make you feel better?”.

This excellent question kicked off a lively group discussion on everyone’s exercise habits.

Key Stage 4 Tutor Time featured an informative presentation by Katia about the pending ban of social media for under 16s.

Using Australia as her case study, Katia outlined some important facts and justified her opinions with some excellent research. Her presentation sparked a great debate between her fellow tutees.

Our House Football competition continued yesterday to the cheering of many onlookers!

Playing a fast-paced match against Rhône, Léman carried the day 5:1, while Jura and Dôle had everyone hanging on the edge of their seats in a tight competition that ended 3:2 for Jura.

See photos here.

Our Key Stage 3 students headed off to Signal-de-Bougy today for a day in the great outdoors. Participating in the Accrobranche courses of varying difficulty levels, our adventurers enjoyed an exciting morning in the trees. They then embarked on team navigation challenges, during which they developed their map-reading, orienteering and navigational skills.

A great day out during which our students supported each other in outdoor challenges and cemented their friendships across different year groups.

See photos here.

Year 12 hikers departed on their much-awaited overnight hike in the Alps today, an alpine adventure during which they are taking in the beautiful scenery of the isolated Lac de Taney.

Following a train and bus journey to Miex, our students hiked up to the Refuge le Grammont. This evening, they will enjoy a classic refuge meal together and stay overnight in this mountain getaway.

We look forward to hearing the many anecdotes they will return with tomorrow, and thank our accompanying staff, Mr Pearce, Mr Dupont-Panon and our external mountain leader, Wendy Shaw.

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This week After School Club has been all about the beautiful season of autumn. Our club-goers made some lovely autumn crafts to welcome in the new season and decorate their display. They also celebrated the European Day of Languages by baking banana cupcakes topped with flags representing their country of origin.

Great baking, everyone!

View photos here.

Our Gymnastics Club has got off to a fantastic start this year, with our students enjoying brand-new equipment and exciting opportunities to develop their skills.

From complete beginners to more experienced gymnasts, everyone has had the chance to explore our new air track, trampolines, vaulting box and mats. These resources are helping students build confidence, strength and coordination while developing a wide range of gymnastics skills.

It has been wonderful to see our students challenging themselves, supporting one another and celebrating their progress. Whether they are mastering their first forward roll, developing their jumps and turns, or working towards more advanced skills such as round-offs and back handsprings, there has been lots of enthusiasm, determination and plenty of smiles in the gym!

We are looking forward to a fantastic year of learning, progressing and having fun through gymnastics!

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The Year 5 and 6 Art Club has been busy getting to grips with still life. Our young artists began with continuous line drawing to familiarise themselves with perspective, space and observational drawing. They then practised drawing their objects by first starting with the shadows and focusing on negative space; before, finally, committing to canvas. They stretched their own canvases and used their knowledge of complementary colours to bring their artwork to life.

See photos of our artists in action.

Our Year 6 Science Club has gone deeper into the world of microscopes this week. First they prepared and observed a slide using a sample of their own cheek cells, noting the different cell structures that make up an animal cell.

Afterwards, they went out into the Secondary grounds to collect various objects, such as leaves, seeds and even bugs, which they placed under the microscope for the entire class to see.

View photos here.

Our Primary football teams had a three fantastic tournaments today!

Our Year 5 and 6 Boys travelled a short way to CDL for the ADISR Minimes tournament and came home with a fantastic second place medal, missing out on the trophy on penalties in the final.

Playing at La Châtaigneraie, the Year 3 and 4 Boys and Girls played at the SGIS Category F tournament. After some tough group games, our Boys rolled up their sleeves and fought hard for victories in the knock-out games, reaching the final and eventually finishing second place! In true GES fashion, they were awarded the Team Spirit and Fair Play trophy for their excellent sportsmanship throughout the tournament!

Our Girls also played hard and learned a lot along the way, winning a few and coming in at a respectable fourth place.

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A squad of 10 players from Years 7, 8 and 9 attended the U14 Category C netball tournament, hosted by our sister school, St George’s International School in Montreux this week. With a beautiful alpine backdrop and the sun shining, our players took to the court with enthusiasm, determination and a real desire to perform at their best across four 20-minute matches against tough opposition from Aiglon College, Le Régent International School, St George’s and the International School of Lausanne.

Throughout the tournament, our players rotated positions and combinations, giving everyone the opportunity to experience different roles and work with different teammates. The girls embraced every challenge and showed great versatility, whether they were on court, scoring or cheering from the sidelines. The support and encouragement between the players was fantastic to see.

Evie was excellent through the mid-court, linking defence and attack, working hard and keeping the ball moving. In the goal circle, Florrie was fantastic, jumping incredibly high for interceptions and consistently scoring those important goals. Connie was excellent in defence, working tirelessly up and down the court and creating some great turnovers. Hannah was particularly effective with back-line throw-ins, passing safely and calmly and helping GES retain possession. Maisie was a wonderful, safe pair of hands wherever she played. Whether shooting or attacking, she was reliable and composed, making a valuable contribution in every position she took on. Rosie moved from centre into attack and did a great job of ensuring the ball made its way into our goal circle. Michelle was a consistent presence in defence, making important interceptions and then guiding the ball safely down the court. Joan was a solid defensive player who worked tirelessly throughout the tournament. She never gave up and always put in tremendous effort for the team. When Miri got the ball, she knew exactly what to do with it – she popped it right in! Her confidence in front of goal was a real positive. Lara was strong through the mid-court, showing great adaptability as she played effectively outside her preferred position and still made a real impact.

Although they didn’t come away with the wins they had hoped for, the tournament provided valuable experience, plenty of positives and lots to work on. Most importantly, the girls enjoyed themselves, supported one another and showed great determination throughout the day.

Commenting on the tournament, their coach, Ms Bugeja, said: “I was incredibly proud of all ten players. They demonstrated teamwork, resilience, enthusiasm and a willingness to try different positions, and we all learnt a great deal. It was an absolute pleasure to coach them, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop and grow as a team during training.”

Well done, girls! You should all be very proud of yourselves!

See photos here.

Huge congratulations to our Year 6 student, Austin, for his amazing achievement at the Tablar’Run in Geneva!

Completing a 3.5 km cross-country race, Austin tackled various challenges along the way, including mud, climbing obstacles and army crawling exercises.

Placing third in his category, Austin also came out in overall third place out of all the children competing. Over the same distance, his excellent time would have placed him fourth in the Adult category.

Bravo, Austin!

Our Year 6 tennis prodigy Danny made the Raiffeisen 2026 Vaud Kids Tennis Final on 6 September! Having qualified for the final after winning the previous rounds which took place from May to August. he won all of his matches in the final tournament, only narrowly missing the top of the podium after a very close loss in the semis.

Danny will play in the first round of the next series Vaud kids’ circuit this weekend in the hopes of making it to the final in March! Good luck, Danny!