Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
I begin my introduction to this week’s newsletter with a bit of good news – or, perhaps more precisely, an absence of bad news – regarding the Geneva canton’s Council of State’s announcement on Wednesday that, from the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, Geneva schools will no longer accept new students from outside the canton. This measure will apply to students in all levels of public (i.e. state) schools, but will not apply to private education.
If you have a little one in Primary school that struggled to get out of bed this morning, rest assured that theirs is a well-earned fatigue! With most having performed on Wednesday in our fabulous Summer Rising Stars concert, and all having raced (and jumped, hopped, thrown and more) during our Sports Days, our young students have given it their all this week. The courage, stage presence, talent and resilience (in near-30 degree heat) they’ve shown has been exemplary, and I think we can all be proud and impressed with what they put on display. I hope that the children had so much fun that they are now thinking about continuing their sports, dance and music-based extra-curricular activities and, better still, that they are inspired to try new ones! Thank you to Mrs Humphreys and our P.E. team, led by Mr Sheppard-Burgess, for their hard work, to our many ECA leaders and, especially, to Yann Crausaz for taking such magnificent photos at these events (and at the performance of the musical, Annie) and sharing them with us. Yann, encore merci d’avoir capturé les sourires des enfants d’une si belle manière.
In Secondary today, my colleagues and I have been treated to a gorgeous “Staff Appreciation Summer Brunch” prepared and beautifully presented by parents and students. We are extremely grateful to all of you who have contributed to this feast, for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you to our parent community for this and for all you do for our school!
As we head into the weekend, I am looking forward to next week which will be packed with events including a celebration of our Year 11 class having finished their GCSE courses, and a graduation ceremony honouring our Year 13 students who are completing their Secondary education and preparing to take the next great leap to universities around the world or to exciting gap years. We have also planned local outings and activities for different classes and, perhaps most fun of all, residential trips for Year 3 and 4 (to Torgon), Year 7 to 9 (to Berlin or Barcelona, according to students’ chosen modern foreign language of study in Key Stage 3), and the Tour du Lac for our Duke of Edinburgh adventurers.
I wish everyone an excellent weekend, “bon courage” to our senior students revising for the last of their exams, and happy packing to children and teachers heading off on their various travels in the coming days.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Sports Days at Primary
Sports Days are definitely among the most anticipated and exciting events of the year, and this week’s Early Years and Primary Sports Days were no exception!
With activities ranging from obstacle courses to standing long jumps, from javelin, ball and vortex throws to 50m, 300m and relay races, our athletes proudly defended their House colours and demonstrated terrific team spirit and camaraderie throughout.
Thank you to our wonderful Sports department for organising yet two new successful editions of this beloved event, to our energetic team of Sports Leaders for coaching their younger peers, and to all the family members who donned their sun hats and summer attire to cheer the children along.
Click below for photos of:
This week in class
Pre-school and Reception students had the most amazing Pirate Day! Between decorating cupcakes with pirate-themed toppings, reading a variety of pirate stories, and sailing the seven seas in their outdoor area – all while practising their French skills – our little buccaneers had a fantastic time!
The highlight of the day was definitely the treasure hunt. Students carefully followed bilingual clues that led them through the dance hall, music room and even to Louise’s desk, and, eventually, to the TREASURE! There were squeals of excitement and whoops of joy as they opened the treasure chest to discover chocolate coins inside. After enjoying their sweet loot, they wrapped up the day with some pirate-themed games.
Our Year 2 rounded off their morning learning about food chains. Thinking about the flora and fauna of different habitats, they came up with their own food chains using a variety of resources while learning about predators and preys, herbivores and carnivores.
Our Year 4 geographers have been learning all about American states, creating their very own State in a Box projects as part of their unit. Thinking about the different geographical features and cultural specificities of their chosen state, they carefully designed some 3D boxes to showcase their learning, which they will present to their peers and teachers. Good job, everybody!
Transdisciplinary learning was the aim of the day for our Year 6 students as they took part in a bilingual STEM activity about the history, science and engineering of montgolfières (hot air balloons). Constructing their own balloons out of coloured tissue paper, students were then challenged to inflate them using a hair-dryer, craft their own baskets (or gondolas) and design pilots and passengers for a journey through the air.
In celebration of the start of the Swiss Fête fédérale de gymnastique, our Primary students were treated to an impressive gymnastics demonstration as part of their Friday Assembly. Coached by their P.E. teacher, Ms Bugeja, our young gymnasts performed a beautiful, perfectly-timed choreography which had their peers cheering for more.
Well done and thank you to all of them for this incredible production!
Our Year 7 scientists have put their senses to the test this week.
In their lesson on refraction, they learned how a rainbow is made. By refracting light through a prism, they were able to observe many different colours and learned how these are absorbed and reflected by using coloured filters and seeing how they affect the observable colours of everyday objects.
Later in the week, they explored how sound travels. First they demonstrated that sound cannot travel through a vacuum by placing a Bluetooth speaker (which was playing music) in a bell jar that had all the air removed from it. They then built their own telephones using plastic cups, paper clips, and string, testing their contraptions by having conversations with each other from either end of the classroom.
Beyond their academic and theoretical dimension, Science lessons at GES also aim to provide students with practical skills and knowledge that they can apply in their day-to-day, now and into their adult lives.
This week, our Year 8 electricians learned the valuable lesson of how to wire a plug, a useful technique that they will doubtlessly use in the future.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Summer Rising Stars
GES’ rising stars enchanted their audience this week with stellar musical and dance performances.
Starring our wonderful orchestra, choirs, ballet, tap and street dancers, our Rising Stars summer concert had our young performers take to the stage with confidence, poise and energy.
Well done to all our musicians and dancers, and bravo to our extra-curricular team of teachers for inspiring our students to outdo themselves!
Cool Cookery at ASC
The sun and heat of the week inspired our After School Care participants to take part in a delicious ice-cream making session. Taking turns dosing each ingredient and then shaking the ice-cream for it to coalesce, they then enjoyed tucking into this refreshing snack.
Well done to all our little chefs!
Final Game of the Year
Our Year 5 and 6 footballers finished off the competitive year with a hot tournament on Tuesday. Rearranged from last week’s wet weather, they had brilliant sunshine and scorching temperatures.
With a total of 33 players across four teams, GES played valiantly, fighting for every ball and every point.
The girls had a great time with some nice wins and a draw, eventually finishing in 7th and 10th place.
The boys came up against tough opposition, with GES 1 pushing all the way to the semi-finals. They eventually finished a very well deserved 4th place, with GES 2 in 10th position.
Well done to every single player who gave everything to their team, not just on the day but throughout training all year.
We’re excited to see what next year brings!
Two Successful Music Exams
Congratulations to our two musicians, Sophia in Year 4 and Joey in Year 8, who just completed their Grade 1 Piano and Grade 4 Violin exams with the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music.
Their hard work and perseverance with their instruments has very much paid out and we look forward to hearing them perform at future music concerts at school!
Kayaking Down the Rhône
Year 9 adventurers took part in their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh International Award practice expedition this week!
Embarking at Seyssel, our expedition-goers kayaked down the Rhône to Chanaz, where they spent the night in a campsite. On the following day, they continued their journey downriver to Yenne, enjoying some exciting – but navigable – rapids on the water which capsized some of our students, to the chuckles of their peers.
Led by a kayak instructor from Prolynx Sports, our adventurers put into practice all the skills they had acquired on previous expeditions, demonstrating excellent teamwork, orienteering and resilience.
We are proud of how much progress they have all made throughout the year and look forward to many more exciting adventures in the future!
A big thank you goes to our International Award leaders, Mr Pearce and Ms Magowan, for organising and accompanying this trip.
Community News
An 82km Run!
A huge bravo to Year 12 student Youri for his performance in the Brüder Grimm Lauf! Starting in Hanau (near Frankfurt) and ending in Steinau an der Strasse, this 82 km race takes place in two of the villages that were inhabited by the Brothers Grimm. Taking place over three days, the race is divided into five stages, each named after a Grimm fairytale, the ultimate one being the “Hänsel und Gretel” stage.
The youngest runner in the race, Youri finished at an impressive 7h45, ranking 155 out of almost 500 runners. Well done, Youri!
Secondary Staff Appreciation Breakfast
Our Secondary team was treated to an incredible feast this morning as they arrived at school. Thank you to the Parents’ Association for organising this beautiful and generous spread for our staff, and to all the home chefs who cooked and baked all the delicious dishes that were on offer this morning.
We are truly touched by this gesture of appreciation and proud to contribute to making your children’s school experience a special and memorable one!
Culture Vultures Outing to the Château de Prangins
Last weekend, our students and parents enjoyed some serious laughs (and sunshine!) at the Château de Prangins. Much Ado About Nothing certainly delivered, with brilliant blue skies setting the stage for a wonderfully witty performance packed with all the clever staging, hilarious mix-ups, and cunning disguises only Shakespeare could muster!
A very entertaining evening out!
Welcome Leonardo!
The latest addition to the GES community, our little green anole lizard, has officially been named Leonardo!
As the summer break approaches, our two Secondary School denizens are seeking temporary holiday homes. Students interested in looking after Leonardo the lizard or Kenny the tarantula over part or all of the summer are invited to contact Mr MacLean ([email protected]) as soon as possible.
Thank you in advance to our dedicated volunteers!
