Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
This morning I had the pleasure of a visit from two members of the AGEP – l’Association genevoise des école privées – Sean Power, President of the Association (and Director General of Institut Florimont), and Isla Gordon, committee member (and Ecolint Campus des Nations Principal). I am grateful to both for having taken the time out of their very busy schedules to pay us this courtesy call to review AGEP statutes and policies, and to take a trip down memory lane. Many of you in the GES community may remember Mr Power’s wife, Sue, who was a well-loved member of our staff for many years, and their children who were students here, and Ms Gordon, herself, is an alumna of GES Primary school. They both enjoyed our tour of our Primary campus which brought back many happy memories, and I was reminded that my office was once a Year 6 classroom. Oh, if these walls could talk…
We were privileged to have not one, but two Heads of Primary in school this week – Emma Brassington and Helena Grant. They have appreciated these five full days spent together to review all aspects of our school, our curriculum and approach and, of course, for Mrs Grant to begin to get to know our children and staff. Without missing a beat, Mrs Grant also popped by World Radio Switzerland to record a discussion with presenter Katt Cullen on why the English National Curriculum at GES is such a strong choice for international and local families in Geneva. I hope you will tune in to WRS on Monday at 9h15 when her interview airs. Mrs Grant has taken no time at all to fit in and we will miss her presence until she returns full-time in January.
As we announced in August, our GCSE and A Level students achieved excellent results, overall, in their summer exams. I was recently delighted to learn that two of our students earned grades worthy of Outstanding Pearson Learner Awards, given each year to students who have distinguished themselves amongst their peers for their remarkable performance in the May/June 2025 Pearson Edexcel examinations. This year’s GES winners are:
- Mitra – Highest mark in Europe, Pearson Edexcel GCSE in Mathematics
- Mitra – Highest mark in Switzerland, Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in History
- Nia – Highest mark in Switzerland, Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Geography
To quote Nicola Fox, Regional Development Manager at Pearson, “This prestigious recognition reflects not only the dedication and hard work of (our) students, but also the unwavering commitment and excellence of (our) teaching staff.” Congratulations to each of you – you can be very proud of your results!
Monday of next week in Secondary will be dedicated to Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, this time focused mainly on relationships and communication. This theme aligns closely with our Anti-bullying Week message, “The Power for Good,” which emphasizes kindness and inclusion. Students will participate in lessons and workshops appropriate to each year group, delivered by tutors from their Key Stage and, for our senior students, these will include sessions on effective revision and exam preparation techniques. Year 13 students will also work closely with their tutors to complete their university applications and prepare for upcoming interviews.
Also on Monday, a presentation and workshop will be delivered to students in Key Stage 5 by a representative of the Nuit Blanche Association on the prevention of substance abuse, aimed at raising awareness, and encouraging informed and healthy choices.
Please note, in case you missed the email on this topic, on Tuesday evening we will host a presentation by Mr Charlie Benson, Senior Education Officer at Childnet International, on the topic of Online Safety. This session will cover relevant issues including digital wellbeing, online friendships, bullying, adult content, and more, as they relate to gaming, streaming, social media. He will also tackle some of the most current online issues, such as unreliable content, grooming, screen time and nudes. Importantly, he will share information about support available, further resources and follow-up guidance. For those who are not available to attend, a recording will be shared in the following days.
I would like to make one final call for donations to the Gift Box programme which, thanks to the truly inspiring effort of a dedicated team of volunteers led by Zita Sheikh, is set to complete almost 250 boxes (or more?) in time for collection at the end of next week. These generous parents have donated countless hours of their time and enormous energy to organising the range of items going into each box, and to assembling and wrapping them one at a time. Zita never misses an opportunity, though, to remind me that children in both Primary and Secondary have been helpful, either on their own, often devoting their breaktimes to this effort, or else as part of a class that came as a group to lend a hand. If you are wondering what contributions would be useful in this race to the finish line, what is most needed now is rucksacks, reusable cloth totebags, or similar. These can be brought anytime to Primary Reception (or Secondary Reception and I will transfer them to Primary), preferably on Monday.
As this week draws to a close, I am looking forward to the Key Stage 3 Disco taking place at Secondary this evening. It is always such a pleasure to see the children in a different context than usual, and dancing and singing is as great as it gets! It will be wonderful, too, to have a chance to catch up with parents coming to our social evening taking place just far away for the children not to see us (but close enough for us to hear the fun).
All the best,
Christina Matillon
A Cycling Tour Around Alicante
Our Year 11 adventurers had an amazing time during their Duke of Edinburgh International Award cycling trip to Alicante.
Taking part in a three day route which they had carefully planned ahead of departure, our expedition-goers toured the province of Valencia, cycling some 60km every day, and staying in self-catering accommodation and cooking their own meals.
Their final day of cycling was marked by significant motivation levels as our students rode quickly (but safely) to arrive at their destination in time for a celebratory meal of pizza and mocktails!
Congratulations to all our participants, and especially those for whom this was their Silver Assessed expedition, for demonstrating excellent teamwork, resilience and perseverance throughout the trip, and thank you to our two accompanying supervisors, Luke Pearce and Claire Janigo.
This week in class
This term, Year 1 have been exploring the question “What is it like here?” through their study of homes past and present. To bring history to life, our students carried out recorded interviews with older family members and friends, discovering how people lived when they were young. Their testimonies were so heartwarming and full of surprises – one grandmother told us how she used to make her own butter at home! Inspired by this, the children had a go at making butter themselves, learning first-hand just how much daily life has changed.
We were so fortunate to hear from so many wonderful families and to learn more about our friends and their lives at home!
Last week, Year 1 were amazed to read about a lost and lonely penguin spotted wandering around Cornavin Station in Geneva! The story reminded the class of the wonderful book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. After reading this beautiful story together and, using their Talk4Write approach, students learned to retell their own version of Lost and Found through actions and a story map.
Year 1 began their Science unit on Seasons by exploring how the world around us changes throughout the year. The children discussed how trees look and feel, and what we might see, hear or experience as the seasons change – even discovering the names of the seasons in French! To finish, our young artists created wonderful artwork showing how trees transform across the seasons.
Fantastic work, Year 1!
In Year 3, our mathematicians are learning column addition and subtraction. They played ‘The Exchange Game’ in pairs to make learning more exciting and to beat their partners by making as many exchanges as possible!
It was a dark morning in Year 3 — literally!
As they began their new Science topic, ‘Light and Dark’, our learners predicted and investigated how they might find writing in the absence of light.
Later, when they returned from break for Geography, they discovered their classrooms had been transformed into caves with very little natural light. Stepping into the shoes of Stone Age people, they experienced cave drawing for themselves, then reflected — through Science — on how people in the Stone Age might have created art with so little light.
All of this linked perfectly to their English class text, The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein, which is set in the Stone Age. English meets Geography meets Science!
In Year 4’s Electricity unit, students explored how electrical circuits work, investigating open and closed pathways, conductors and insulators! They applied their learning by designing interactive games with simple circuits that lit up or buzzed when a conductive object (a piece of foil) completed the circuit. The children had lots of fun!
Our Year 7 students engaged in a series of exciting team-building exercises in P.E. this week, including a blindfolded Trust Walk! As part of their Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA) unit, students are sharpening their communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.
Scientists across Secondary have had another busy week of experiments!
In Year 7, students experimented with the reactivity of different metals using hydrochloric acid and observing various reaction signs, including temperature changes. They also tested for the presence of hydrogen gas as a reaction product by carrying out the Squeaky Pop test.
Year 8 started a new topic on Energy this week by investigating different energy stores such as batteries, lightbulbs and kinetic energy.
Our Year 9 investigated how much energy is present in different foods by setting foods alight to heat a known volume of water, and measuring the temperature change before and after heating.
In Year 10, students learned how to calculate the resistance of different electrical components including filament bulbs and LED bulbs. Later on, they carried out a heart and lung dissection to investigate the various structures and inter-relatedness of the respiratory and circulatory systems.
For our Year 13 physicists’ required practical experiment, students used a top pan balance to investigate how magnetic flux density, current and the length of a copper wire affect the force acting upon the wire, while in Year 13 Biology carried out research on the mechanics of the “light reaction” and the “light independent reaction”, two important processes in photosynthesis.
Beyond the Classroom
The Power for Good
As part of their Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) curriculum, our Primary students have been celebrating the “Power for Good”.
In Year 1, students talked about what special powers each of us has inside to be good and came up with a list of ideas. Watch out for Year 1 using their special powers with everyone. Kindness is spreading around the school…
Year 5 students brainstormed the qualities that they looked for in a friend before creating a kindness diamond. Both their investment in the task and their vocabulary were amazing, earning them a class star for excellence!
Our entire Primary community came together for an assembly to discuss kindness and what it means to be kind, enjoying a video of students saying what kindness means to them. Students and teachers were also delighted to show everyone the odd socks they were wearing for the day to mark Anti-Bullying Week by celebrating diversity, accepting others even if they are different and including everyone.
Poets in our Midst
Congratulations to all the participants in the International Poetry Competition!
For the second year in a row, our students have demonstrated remarkable resilience, courage and excellence by learning and performing poems both in French and Spanish. After thoughtful deliberation, the French team selected two outstanding students from each year group to represent GES in the upcoming international round.
Selected students:
Spanish
Year 6: Teo
French
Year 6: Leonard and Connie
Year 4: Aidan and Artémis
Year 3: Gabriel and Yuvaan
Stay tuned for the international results, which will be announced at the end of November by the judging panel.
World Science Day for Peace and Development
Our Secondary students marked World Science Day for Peace and Development this week with two assemblies led by Mr Feeney during which they explored the important role that science plays in society. Considering the medical breakthroughs and technological innovations that have impacted human life in the last few decades, they realised just how important science education is in driving societal change and economic growth. With our older Secondary students, Mr Feeney took a close look at the Movember movement, its drive to raise awareness about men’s health and the impact that such campaigns can have on bringing scientific topics, such as medicine, into the spotlight.
At GES, we are proud to have students whose natural curiosity and skill at problem-solving drive them to excel in their scientific studies. Six students were rewarded as part of these assemblies for their positive attitude, enthusiasm, and scientific approach and questioning, receiving certificates of excellence and books with extra challenging science puzzles.
Congratulations go to Maisie and Isaac in Year 7, Sebastian B and Fiona in Year 8, Tim and Miatta in Year 9 for setting such a great example for their school!
Awards Galore in Secondary
We were proud to celebrate the impressive results of our Secondary students this week!
Nia and Mitra in Year 12 received a Pearson Outstanding Learner Award. Mitra scored the highest mark in Europe in GCSE Mathematics and the highest mark in Switzerland in IGCSE History, while Nia received the highest mark in Switzerland for IGCSE Geography.
Students in Years 8 to 13 also outdid themselves in the UK Maths Trust recent Senior Mathematical Challenge.
Congratulations go to the following students for earning certificates:
- Gold: Eric (Year 13) and Jun (Year 11), who came Best in School and Best in Year 11 respectively
- Silver: Katrina (Year 10) – Best in Year 10, Karen (Year 13), Mitra (Year 12) – Best in Year 12, George (Year 9), William (Year 12), Ella (Year 12), Sebastian (Year 8), Finn (Year 12), Arjan (Year 10) and Elen (Year 13)
- Bronze: Ben (Year 10), George (Year 13), Leon (Year 11), Teddy (Year 11), Vivaan (Year 10), Elijah (Year 12), Griffin (Year 12), Nia (Year 12) and Ravi (Year 10)
Extra-Curricular Activities
A Fluffy Visitor at Zoology Club
There was a special, four-legged visitor to Zoology Club – Schnitzel – to the excitement of all our club-goers. Well done to Zoe for delivering an excellent presentation about her dachshund during which she described the characteristics of the breed through examples of Schnitzel’s personality.
Community News
A Visit from Helena Grant
We were delighted to have Helena Grant, our future Head of Primary, over in Geneva for a visit to our school this week.
Helena travelled over from the UK for a thorough handover with our departing Head of Primary, Emma Brassington, ahead of her start in January. In addition to meeting with our school’s Senior Leadership Team and our Primary staff members, Helena also spent a long while exchanging with our students, including our wonderful team of House Captains, to hear about their priorities for the current academic year and the exciting projects and ambitions they have for their school.
Success for our Songbird
Congratulations to Niamh in Year 8, who successfully passed her Grade 2 singing exam with distinction!
We are proud of all her hard work and of this excellent result.
200 Boxes and Counting!
What an incredible few weeks it’s been! Thank you to all our families for their generosity, time and enthusiasm. Thanks to your amazing support, our Parents’ Association have reached their goal of 200 gift boxes!
On Tuesday afternoon, our Year 3 and 4 students completed the final 36 boxes, and their Secondary peers jumped in to help with wrapping, tying the strings and carrying everything downstairs.
A special thank you goes to everyone who helped and donated to make this possible, and to our Year 5 and 6 students, who gave up their break times over the past couple of weeks to help organise all the donations. A shout-out goes to Zita Sheikh, whose boundless energy, incredible organisation and inspiring enthusiasm made this project not only possibly but hugely successful. Thank you, Zita!
Our volunteers will continue making as many boxes as they can until the truck arrives next Thursday. Donations are still possible and we are particularly missing the following items:
- rucksacks, reusable bags
- hats
Sister Act | Call for Volunteers
Our upcoming production of Sister Act needs a little help – we are looking for parents and family members with creativity, crafting skills and a dash of theatrical enthusiasm to assist with scenery, props, costumes and backstage roles.
Whether you can help paint sets, build stage pieces or support behind the scenes, we would love to hear from you! No experience is necessary, just a willingness to get involved and have fun.
We will be holding a preliminary planning meeting at 8:30 on Monday 24 November in the Grand Café of our Secondary campus. It would be wonderful if you could join us to start planning and sharing ideas.
The show is scheduled for Tuesday 23 June 2026, but the sooner we begin, the better prepared we will be.
If you are interested in helping or want more information, please contact Karen Empson at [email protected].
Thank you for your support!
Save the Date | Winter Showcase
Join us at our Secondary campus on Wednesday 10 December at 18:00 for our Secondary Winter Showcase!
Proudly presenting all the work they have accomplished over the past few months, students in Years 10 to 13 will showcase the progress they have made in their Music, Art and Drama lessons.
GES On the Airwaves
We were on the WRS airwaves this week as our very own Sabine Hutcheson, Director of Marketing and Head of Secondary Admissions, exchanged with Mark Butcher about our school’s French provision at Primary for both native and non-native students.
Click here for the full interview.
Next week, tune in to WRS on Monday at 9:15 to hear our future Head of Primary, Helena Grant, talk to Katt Cullen about her experience of the English National Curriculum and why she is looking forward to joining the GES family.
Join us next week in supporting WRS, our team sports kit sponsor and pillar of our community, as they embark on a 24-hour marathon on air starting at 6:30am on Thursday 20th November’s breakfast show, ending at 10am on Friday 21st. This event is part of their fundraising campaign to grow and expand the station in 2026 to secure the future of Switzerland’s English-language radio.
