Message from Ms Matillon, Director General

Dear Parents,
As mentioned in our last newsletter, this week our Primary school children had the opportunity to meet and exchange with Simon Manley, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations. As the oldest and most academically successful school in Geneva delivering the English National Curriculum through to A Levels, we are proud of GES’ relationship with the UK Mission and we thank Mr Manley once more for making time for our students.
Another exciting visit, this time to our Secondary school, was from two of our 2024 graduates, Harry and Karlis, who are fully immersed in their first year studying at the University of Cambridge. To any GES alumni who may be reading this message, please do come to school when you are in town! We would be delighted to see you and to know how you are getting on in the next chapter of your lives, and our current Sixth Formers would surely appreciate hearing from you as to what awaits them in the next stage of their studies.
Turning our attention back to our younger students, Key Stage 1 swimmers began their 10 weeks of lessons yesterday at Red Whale Swim School in Bellevue. We are very lucky that this fantastic facility is located just a short drive from GES Primary school and that our children are able to learn to swim, or perfect their technique, in such idyllic conditions – warm water and groups of only four to a teacher! As described by Mrs Livesey, the whole process ran smoothly and everyone had a fabulous time.
Those amongst you who have consulted the school calendar to see what is planned for the coming days will have spotted that highlights include snowy trips to the mountains for a broad range of year groups.
Students in Key Stage 2 will be treated to a ski day at the Portes du Soleil resort on Tuesday. This outing was available for sign-up for children in Years 3-6 and, thanks to the experience and planning by our Director of Sport, Jonathan Sheppard-Burgess, combining these classes will ensure an instructor:student ratio more favourable to enjoyable learning for all participants. The forecast is promising sun and warm-ish weather, so we are looking forward to stories and photos of a memorable day on the slopes.
Year 12 members of the Duke of Edinburgh club will head off to Engleberg, an alpine town in central Switzerland, early in the morning on Sunday, accompanied by Luke Pearce and Victoria Magowan. These GES adventurers will take the train, bus and cable car up to 1860m to reach the Brunnihütte mountain lodge where they will stay the night. Once there, they will have fun sledging, snow hiking, watching a demonstration of avalanche rescue, hearing about snow science and building a snowman. Brunni is located on the sunny side of Englelberg and is an ideal starting point for exploring the magnificent scenery by which it is surrounded.
Back to the classroom, Tuesday will be our third PSHE Enrichment Day of the year in Secondary, this time focused on Careers. The rich and relevant programme for the day features guidelines for writing CVs and excelling in job interviews in French; an introduction to degree courses worldwide for Year 10 students; an overview of GCSE options for Year 9 students, and of A Level options for Year 11 students. The latter will also have the opportunity to experience taster sessions in Sociology and Economics in advance of selecting the subjects they will study at A Level.
We will be delighted to welcome guest speakers to our Careers Day, including Margot Denomme, Executive Director and Founder of Raising Awareness About Digital Dangers, and author of The Family Smartphone Guide. Ms Denomme is dedicated to fostering healthier, more confident youth and her comprehensive approach ensures both children and parents are equipped with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. She has written to me, “I’m looking forward to speaking with your older students about being a prosecutor and some of the important points contained in the The Family Smartphone Guide. I will be sure to focus on how our actions create consequences – both good and bad.”
In closing, I would like to remind parents of Primary school children to please always follow the pick-up procedure outlined by Emma Brassington in her email sent on 8th January, especially during the first and last weeks of term when there are no after-school clubs. The process can run safely, smoothly and efficiently for all – even on days when all children are collected straight after school – with everyone’s cooperation. Please keep in mind, too, that the collection point by the tents is not a good place for a conversation with teachers so, if you need time to talk, please contact them to arrange a longer discussion at another time and place. Thank you for your consideration in adhering to the guidelines for picking up your child(ren), according to their age and the day of the week, and for helping to prevent a backlog of cars in the carpark and on the Route de Malagny.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
A VIP Visit at Primary

Our Primary students hosted a VIP guest this week at school, welcoming H.E. Mr Simon Manley, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN in Geneva, for a rich exchange in the context of the workshops led by Send My Friend to School‘s Nada Radwan.
Having designed jigsaw pieces with possible solutions to challenges linked with access to education, our young activists presented their efforts to the Ambassador and exchanged letters with him asking for his help in ensuring that all children around the world can go to school and receive an education.
At GES, we teach our children that they have the power to make a difference, that they have the right to an opinion and that their voices are important and should be heard. We are incredibly grateful to Mr Manley that he took the time to visit our school and hear from our young people, as well as to Ms Mounzer for her inspiring workshops that have mobilised our students to make a difference.
This week in class

Year 1 had great fun exploring “teen” numbers this week. After having learned to count forwards and backwards to 50, and to read and write these numbers in numerals, this new Maths unit is all about exploring how tens and ones work together to produce “teens”.
Click here for photos of our mathematicians.

As part of their History theme on invasion and settlement, Year 5 have been attempting to answer the question “Were the Vikings really vicious?” by looking at aspects of Viking family life, arts and crafts, navigation, religion and invasions.
In this week’s History lessons, our historians seized the opportunity to practise their French speaking and writing skills in their research on how the Vikings are viewed in the modern day.

Year 5 were delighted to receive a visit from parent Laura Sava, Head of Value Chain Optimisation at Klesch Group oil company.
The children enjoyed a fascinating presentation entitled ‘From crude oil to everyday products’ and learned how crude oil is formed and transported, as well as the process it undertakes at a refinery. Looking into the science of separation and the difference between physical and chemical changes, they investigated what happens when oil and water are mixed, and defined that a melting wax crayon undertakes a physical change, but a burning candle undertakes a chemical change.

Incorporating purposeful communication into the study of grammatical concepts is essential to making language learning engaging and meaningful.
Through their French homework, students applied their understanding of the future tense to plan an imagined trip to a Francophone country. They used their language skills to create detailed plans and presented them in French to their peers. This activity not only reinforced their grammar and speaking skills but also encouraged cross-curricular learning by exploring cultural and geographical facts about Francophone countries, thus enriching their global perspective.

As part of their unit on “Earth”, Year 9 geologists have been learning about the rock cycle. Looking at and feeling the textures of different kinds of rocks, including quartz, mica, obsidian and chalk, they discovered the different rock types and how these form and transition over time.

In Year 11, our chemists have been exploring the chemical process of combustion, both complete and incomplete. Through a laboratory demonstration led by their teacher, Mr Feeney, they learned that complete combustion is a reaction by which a hydrocarbon reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water and usable energy, while incomplete combustion occurs when there is insufficient oxygen in the reaction, producing a range of other products such as carbon monoxide and carbon.
Understanding the chemistry behind this process is key for our students to dive deeper into its uses, which include the production of energy or the destruction of waste.

A Level P.E. students have been recapping the globalisation of sports through the pre- to post-industrial eras. Exploring how society has shaped sports and how sports have shaped society, our learners took an interdisciplinary dive into History, Economics, P.E. and Sociology.
Find out more about our P.E. A Level course.

Our A Level Chemistry Year 13 scientists put into practice their knowledge of organic chemistry, separation techniques and qualitative analysis in lab experiments to make cyclohexene from cyclohexanol using a dehydration reaction. Two rather smelly organic compounds, these chemicals play a key role in the manufacture of nylon.
Beyond the classroom
Outdoor Fun for Early Years Foundation Stage Children

Our youngest learners had fun playing outside in the cold this week! Undaunted by the brisk wind and near-zero temperatures on the playground, our students donned their coats, hats, scarves and mittens to enjoy the great outdoors. Exploring the wonderful ice sculptures created by frozen water and leaves, their inquisitive minds buzzed with excitement!
At GES, we make sure that our young learners take part in regular outdoor play sessions all throughout the year. In addition to the health benefits that fresh air brings, outdoor play has been shown to produce higher physical activity levels, encourage healthy behaviour habits and build children’s independence and self-esteem.
House News

House Captains, along with their peers in Years 12 and 13, led activities for younger Secondary students this week to share their experience of the A Level programme. Through presentations, quizzes and small group chats, they gave the younger students an idea of what A Levels are like and how they are now preparing for their big next step: university applications.
This cross-generational moment of exchange came as the perfect introduction for Secondary’s upcoming PSHE day next week, which will focus on subject choices, university applications and careers.
Extra-Curricular Activities
New Netball Season

With just two weeks to go until the competition season gets underway for our Year 5-6 and Secondary teams, our Year 3-4 netball players had an excellent opportunity to hone their playing skills this week in a fun 20-minute training match against the Secondary team!
Our players are very lucky to have Karen Bugeja as their coach, who creates a supportive and encouraging atmosphere for beginners and more experienced players alike, and ensures that there is always a focus on fun, alongside developing fitness and match skills. The nine new players who have just joined this term are testament to the excellent atmosphere within the teams, which underpins GES’ long track record of success in netball. Thank you, Karen!
A Great Start to Rugby Club

This week saw the start of training sessions for our Secondary rugby players. Taking advantage of the outdoor green space on our doorstep at Port Choiseul, our intrepid players braved the sudden winter cold snap that has hit this week to practise their ball handling skills and movement under the watchful eye of Director of Sports Mr Sheppard-Burgess.
While still a relatively minority sport in Switzerland, rugby has been a winter staple of the British school experience for over 200 years, and GES is no exception!
Ski Academy Kicks Off in Style!

Our Wednesday Ski Academy started this Wednesday under perfect conditions: blue skies and incredible snow! Students from Years 1 to 6 took to the slopes to hone their skiing skills and enjoy time with friends on the mountain.
A special congratulations go to our first-time skiers, who showed remarkable resilience and enthusiasm in embracing this new sport. Your courage and positive spirit set the tone for an amazing season ahead!
We look forward to the next five Wednesdays and can’t wait to see the progress and fun that lie ahead.
Community News
Back to School

We were thrilled to welcome back to school two of our class of 2024 alumni, Harry Anderson-Endean and Karlis Kaurats, who are both currently attending the University of Cambridge, reading Land Economy and Economics respectively.
Reflecting on their time at GES, Harry and Karlis explained that they felt their educational journey with us had prepared them perfectly for studying at their prestigious Russell Group university, highlighting that our school’s small classes were very similar to the Cambridge supervision model whereby students study in small groups with a tutor.
Harry and Karlis also mentioned how grateful they were to their GES teachers Mr Crabtree, Mr Pearce and Ms McKee for the extensive interview practice they received from them and for their recommendations of external contacts with links to Cambridge whom they connected with for more formal practice.
Beyond academia and in a fitting continuation of their previous roles as House Captains for Dôle at GES, our two alumni are both thriving at Cambridge, where they have joined the university’s football, basketball and rowing clubs, as well as the college student union.
Faces of GES

Our Faces of GES series this week sheds light on a recent addition to GES, Mariann Csoma, who joins us as Head of Pastoral Care and Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Mariann has extensive experience working in child safeguarding and pastoral care in schools, and is a trained mental heath counsellor and certified clinical psychologist specialising in children and adolescents. She is accredited by the Federation of Swiss Psychologists (FSP), the Lausanne university hospital (CHUV), and the International Society for Emotional Intelligence (ISEI). Having previously worked in Hungary, France and Switzerland, Mariann also has full professional proficiency in English, French and Hungarian.
Her greatest professional achievement? Every time she witnesses a young child or teenager develop their social-emotional skills and see how it positively impacts their everyday life. By helping students build confidence, empathy, and emotional resilience, Mariann feels the incredible reward of knowing she has contributed to their growth. In the small, friendly and welcoming atmosphere of GES, she looks forward to getting to know all our students and making sure they receive the personalised support they need in terms of academic and pastoral care. She hopes that all students finish school with a strong sense of self-awareness and a set of tools that empower them to navigate their social, emotional, and professional lives with confidence so as to build meaningful relationships, overcome challenges, and thrive in all aspects of their future.
Beyond school, Mariann is a water sports enthusiast, especially surfing, and she will regularly organise trips around this activity. She also has a passion for art, using it in her work with young people. In fact, she was able to combine her love of art and dedication to mental health in a personal project in which she developed a communication tool for professionals focusing on creative expression.