Message from Mr Crabtree, Executive Head
Dear parents,
For those of us who thrive in an environment filled with energy, enthusiasm and young people learning and achieving under a warm summer sun, GES has been the place to be this week!
The last two weeks have been full of challenging decisions, but nothing close to the high stakes responsibility of having the final vote on which House team had won the bucket and sponge race (Rhône) at our Early Years and Key Stage 1 Sports Day on Thursday! It was wonderful to see our children so active and enthusiastic as they represented their Houses in friendly competition alongside their friends, cheered and supported by family members and Year 5 and 6 pupils – the photo gallery below captures the excitement of the day.
As I observed lessons this morning, there was a real buzz amongst our Key Stage 3 students at Secondary as they look forward to next week’s two residential trips. Year 7-9 students will be spending next week either in a city or the sea, as they travel for either a week of culture in Amsterdam or watersports on the coast near Bordeaux. I look forward to sharing stories and photography of their adventures in next week’s newsletter.
With just one or two GCSE and A-Level exams remaining, the thoughts of our Year 13 and Year 11 students will turn next week to the graduation and celebration events. These are special moments for both our students and parents alike, acting as formal gateways and milestones in the lives of our children and their families; I am very much looking forward to both events and spending time with these members of our community.
Much of our Leadership Team’s time this week has been spent looking forward to next academic year. On Monday, we conducted final interviews for the Head of Pastoral Care role. The experience was a particular highlight of my week as it proved a demonstration of the qualities and excellence we so value at GES as we welcomed candidates to our school. I want to share with you my pride in observing our students participating in the student panels. There is no greater advert for our school than seeing our students assess whether someone is the right person to fulfil this role in their school. I want to thank our Year 5 panel of Ora, Eddie and Carys, and the Year 12 panel of Ana, Finn, Nia and Daniela for their thoughtful, articulate, incisive and compassionate questions, asked on behalf of their friends, peers and the great diversity of the GES student community.
Planning extends to the organisation of curricula, timetables and classes for next academic year. I am very pleased to share that, with the support of Inspired and the work of our Admissions team, we are opening a second class in Year 3 for next academic year 26/27. This means that our Primary school will have two double-form year groups, Years 3 and 4, enabling more families and children to benefit from the outstanding GES school experience we all enjoy.
As we look forward to the end of the academic year, I extend a very warm invitation to every member of our school community, both Primary and Secondary, parents and students to our end-of-year picnic, organised by our parents, taking place at our Primary campus on the last day of term, Friday 26 June. You are invited to join us as of 12:30 and bring a picnic blanket and hamper, and enjoy a drink from the bar and a free ice cream for every student (both kindly organised by our parent community). For busy families, there will also be a pizza truck to feed hungry children!
I wish you and your family a wonderful weekend.
Daniel Crabtree
Sports Days at Primary
Our Primary campus was buzzing with athletic energy on Thursday morning as parents and family members flocked to school to cheer our Early Years and Key Stage 1 students during their much-awaited Sports Day!
Our youngest learners launched the morning’s events with obstacle relay races and a refreshing water race, followed by an exciting 50m sprint that had them zooming down to the finish line.
Our students in Years 1 and 2 performed amazing athletic feats in their Sports Day, too, which also included pushing themselves as far as they could in the standing long jump and throwing events.
Well done to all our athletes for their great accomplishments and competitive enthusiasm and to our fantastic Sports Leaders for kicking off this sporting celebration in style!
This week in class
In their Science lessons, Year 5 students have been learning about animal and plant life cycles. Inspired by the assembly they had on fieldwork, our scientists took their investigations outside into the school grounds to collect data on insects. By carefully shifting stones and turning leaves, they found insects in various stages of the life cycle – eggs, larvae (grubs) and adult forms. They didn’t find any pupae, but they have certainly caught the fieldwork “bug” and will continue their search outside of school.
Year 8 scientists have been measuring the current and voltage of various circuits this week during their Science lessons. By testing both series (single path) and parallel (multiple branches) circuits, our students were able to gain a better understanding of their electrical potential difference and electron flow.
Beyond the Classroom
Building Confdence in Primary
This term, 20 students took part in Confident Voices, a series of sessions during which they learned to whisper and to project, performed in silly voices, told stories, delivered very serious news reports about giant sandwiches, and wrote TV adverts for chocolate toothbrushes and invisible hats.
They took their final session outside: through ten stations around the playground, each one a real-life moment where a confident voice matters, they were tasked with such situations as ordering at a café, asking for directions, saying no, or standing up for a friend.
Confidence is built one brave moment at a time, and our students have built plenty. Well done to all!
Activists for the Environment
Our Year 5 delivered a wonderful assembly today, taking on the role of environmental activists and presenting in both French and English a range of meaningful actions and projects aimed at protecting our planet. Demonstrating how small everyday choices can make a positive difference, our students concluded with a beautiful rendition of the French song “3 Petits Pas”, which delighted their audience and renewed their conviction to make the world a cleaner, greener and safer place for all.
With such passionate and thoughtful young activists, the future of our planet is certainly in safe hands!
A Trip to the Observatory
As part of their study of astronomy and space science, our Year 7 students visited the Geneva Observatory last Friday. They were able to explore a working observatory environment, learn about the areas of research currently underway in the field of astronomy, discover the various tools astronomers use, and gain valuable insights into the Observatory’s search for exoplanets, of which no fewer than 6291 have been found so far! See photos here.
The Geneva Observatory welcomes visitors for free visits and regularly organises stargazing events during the autumn and winter months when the skies are at their clearest. Please note that all visits require prior registration. Click here for full details.
Extra-curricular Activities
A Tasty Tour of the World
Students in Around the World Club continued their exciting globetrotting with a stop in Greece, where they created beautiful Santorini-inspired collages and enjoyed a delicious taste of Greek cuisine: hummus, pitta bread, and fresh Greek salad!
They then travelled to their final destination of the year: Italy! They made colourful Italian flags and finished their adventure with a tasty treat… genuine gelato!
What an incredible journey they have been on, exploring different countries, cultures, and foods from around the world. Well done to all our explorers for their enthusiasm and creativity throughout this adventure!
Summer Rising Stars
We have such accomplished and talented students in our Primary school!
On Wednesday evening, they transported their audience of parents, family members, friends and staff on a musical showcase of song and dance. Featuring our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 choirs, street dancers and tap dancers, the show was truly magical, with many audience members joining in to move and groove alongside our rising stars!
Well done, everybody! What a show!
A Friendly Afternoon of Football
Our Year 7-9 footballers (and Year 10 student, Katrina) had a fantastic friendly football match on Monday evening against the British School of Geneva (BSG). Playing 9-a-side on our home pitch at the Centre Sportif de Versoix, GES had early control of the match with four goals from Olek (Year 9). BSG came back into the match with a goal against the run of play, but at 5-1 GES pulled away in the final 20-minutes with some nice passing football.
Eventually, GES came out on top after one hour of football, carrying the day an 8-2 score! A fantastic way to end the season.
A Trip Downriver
Great success for our Year 9 adventurers, who took to the water for the practice Bronze Duke of Edinburgh International Award expedition last weekend!
This two-day kayak journey on the Rhône river had them create lasting memories, which some have been pleased to share in their reports below:
Raheem reflects on the impressive features seen along the way: “On our practice expedition down the Rhône River, we observed a range of rock formations and geological features. We started in Seyssel and finished in Yenne, travelling around 40 km over two days. We stopped overnight in Chanaz, a picturesque French town with a medieval atmosphere. Along the route, we saw evidence of erosion and learned how the river has shaped the surrounding landscape. The expedition also helped us improve our paddling, navigation, and teamwork skills.”
Guillermo looks back on their investigations during the trip: “Last Friday to Saturday, we kayaked along the river Rhône in France, travelling from Seyssel to Chanaz and onwards. We measured the current at different points on the river, learning about the force and strength of the current, and the danger involved in kayaking. Once we arrived at the campsite, we began settling and putting up our tents and finally began to cook for ourselves.”
Edgar shares his experience: “On the whole we all enjoyed the kayaking even though we all got sunburnt and had little sleep. It was a team-building activity that all of us enjoyed. The food was fine but a little bland and the facilities (toilets) were just a hole in the ground! Overall we all enjoyed the trip but were happy to return home.”
Well done to all our kayakers for their perseverance and hard work, and thank you to Mr Pearce for organising yet another successful expedition!
Community News
Representing Team GB in Lead Climbing
Exciting news from our lead climber in Year 13, Eric, who has just received an invitation to represent Great Britain at the European Youth Championship for lead climbing in Dornbirn, Austria this July.
Both physically and mentally challenging, lead climbing is a style of rock climbing that involves dragging the rope up during the ascent and periodically clipping it into protective anchors. Our Eric has been working on outdoor projects up to 40m long, and has done some multi-pitch routes over 300m. He has put in many years of mental work, training and getting used to falling off whilst trying hard to get as many moves up the wall as possible.
Well done, Eric! We wish you all the best of success for the competition in July!
Gold Award at Secondary
We are proud to announce that our Year 13 student, Elen, has earned the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
For 52 weeks, Elen diligently recorded her progress in the physical, skills and volunteering sections of the award – recording her walks around the local area, some beautiful paintings that she worked on, and her work helping Ms McKee to chair Debating Club.
We reported on her residential project – a biology camp in Costa Rica – last summer and so the final step in earning the award was her assessed expedition. This took the form of a four-day hike around the island of Santorini. During this trip, Elen demonstrated excellent leadership skills as she took charge of planning the route and ensuring her group were prepared in advance, as they measured water quality and pollution on nearly every beach on the island!
The Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award requires commitment and consistency to complete and shows a rounded skillset and determination – Elen really exemplifies these characteristics and so is very deserving of the award.
Well done, Elen! We are so proud of you!
New Partnership with Genthod Library
As part of our commitment to strengthening links with the local community, Mme Durey recently visited the wonderful Bibliothèque de Genthod. This charming and welcoming library is a true treasure, offering a wide selection of French books as well as a smaller collection of English titles. Starting in September, Mme Durey hopes to take each class from Key Stage 1 upwards to visit the library, allowing students to discover this wonderful resource and encouraging them to return with their families to borrow French books regularly.
While we look forward to these visits in September, there is no need to wait until then! The Genthod Library also welcomes individual readers and families looking to stock up on books. Registration is free for both children and adults and opens the doors of the library for bookworms to read in situ or to borrow books to read at home. Library-goers can choose to register as a family (max. 30 books borrowed simultaneously) or as a young reader (max. 10 books).
The library is open as follows:
· Monday and Friday: 15:00-18:00
· Tuesday: 15:00-19:00
· Wednesday: 14:00-17:00
· One Saturday per month from 9:00 to 12:00 (next open Saturday: 20 June)
The library allows for unlimited borrowing during the summer holiday. Please note that the library will be closed from 6 July to 7 August.
G7 Mobility Hotline
We kindly remind all families that the Swiss authorities have put in place a free phone number for any questions relating to mobility measures during the G7 summit next week.
The 0800 902 456 hotline is available free of charge for any questions related to the event: security arrangements, transportation, access to different areas, and impact on daily life in the canton.
This number will be in operation June 8-18, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
