Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Given the seemingly interminable spate of cold, wet weather we are experiencing, the attention of many of us in the GES community has turned to booking family holidays abroad. As of this morning, term dates for the 2025-2026 academic year are on our school website, so you can confidently move from browsing to clicking on the “reserve” button! In setting next year’s calendar, I have taken heed of feedback received from some parents concerning frustration with this year’s dates. You will surely be pleased to know that 2025-2026 term dates align with those of Geneva schools – and, thus, holiday camps and sports offerings in the canton – while retaining our two-week break in October and our three weeks off at Christmas.
This week has been action-packed in school, as always, with much going on in both Primary and Secondary. Our younger students enjoyed a guest speaker and a visiting dentist, as well as a Year 5 trip to the Roman Museum in Nyon and the Year 6 Maths Challenge. A highlight for me was certainly the Music Recital – the first of two planned for this year – in which all but three performers were from Primary! The quality of the children’s performances, as well as their poise and confidence when taking the stage, were truly impressive. As I said at the end of the show, I can’t think of a nicer way to end a day in school than to listen to our young people play the piano, guitar, violin, saxophone and sing. Thank you, children, for sharing your talent with us, and to Mrs Goater and the rest of our extraordinary music department for organising this treat!
This half term, students in Secondary have been taking part in the inaugural GES Geography Challenge, led by Mr Shreeve. The first great challenge entailed matching all countries in Europe to their location. Congratulations to Sam in Year 10 who came first, accurately identifying all 46 countries in an astonishing time of 43.055 seconds, taking less than 1 second per country and earning 5 points for his House. Honourable mention also goes to 2nd to 5th place finishers: Cam (Year 11), Tino (Year 11), Miatta (Year 8) and Isabelle (Year 7), who earned 4, 3, 2, and 1 point for their Houses, respectively. Year 7 students have also competed to name and locate all 26 Swiss Cantons in the fastest time. Bravo to Isabelle who completed this task in an incredible 19.767 seconds. Jaylen, Arthur, Gabriel and James rounded out our top 5 finishers. Very well done to all of you!
In closing, in line with our values of integrity, respect and tolerance, we have made the decision that GES will leave X (formerly Twitter) and close our account effective immediately. In the face of an increase in toxic rhetoric and disinformation on X, we feel that this platform is no longer compatible with the GES moral code. It is our duty to model our school’s values in our day to day interactions with students, staff members and parents, and we look forward to keeping you informed about the exciting happenings in school on the social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Now, if you will excuse me, I must brush up on current affairs as I prepare for this evening’s Quiz Night in Secondary. Thank you to the many families who have signed up to attend in support of the GES Parents’ Association, and see you here soon. I’m in it to win it!
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education
Year 4 dived deep into PSHCE with a close look at teeth and dental hygiene with former dentist Veronika Luterán. Using plasticine of different colours, they learned about the anatomy of the tooth by reconstructing the various layers, including the root, pulp, dentin and enamel. They took their investigations further with a lab experiment involving soaking an egg in vinegar and applying different brands of toothpaste to it to see what effect this produced.
In PSHCE, Year 5 have been discussing the qualities of an excellent friend. They each created a recipe for friendship, which they shared with their peers, and vowed to follow their recipes to become even better friends to all their school mates.
Secondary students had the second of their Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) days this week, on the theme of “Living in the Wider World”.
Taking part in a module on financial decision-making, students looked at managing risk, including the dangers of gambling, debt, fraud and cyber-crime. Re-enacting the Wall Street Stock Exchange through the prism of buying and selling bananas, they came to several conclusions: “capitalism breeds inequality”, “don’t use credit cards”, and “more stuff doesn’t make you happier”.
The day’s events continued with a visit from Dhruv Khanna, Head of Business Performance and Contract Management for the World Economic Forum, who led activities on budgeting, managing needs and wants and reflecting on future careers.
For A Level students, the day was marked by an inspiring presentation from Dr Paulina Buffle, researcher at the Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l’éducation of the University of Geneva, on her project “Autism in a Global Context”. We were proud to see our students engaging so fully with this important topic, displaying tremendous empathy and resolve to break down stereotypes and understand the challenges that autistic people and their families can face in their daily lives. By raising awareness about autism and neuro-divergence from the earliest age, we can all contribute to creating a more inclusive society and greater opportunities for all. Dr Buffle has worked closely with Inés in Year 13 to support her UK university application in Psychology and Education.
To conclude, Year 12 students took part in a useful “speed-dating” exercise with their peers in Year 13, who imparted their knowledge about navigating their courses, exam preparation and university applications.
This week in class
Dans le cadre de la lecture de l’histoire Ah, les bonnes soupes de Claude Boujon, certains élèves des Years 3-4 ont préparé leur propre soupe ! Nous avons discuté des différentes étapes d’une recette, pratiqué la lecture en français et appris les noms des légumes ainsi que du vocabulaire spécifique comme “émincer”, “éplucher” et “faire revenir”. Les enfants ont pris plaisir à réaliser leur soupe et l’ont dégustée avec grand plaisir.
Une belle anticipation des préparatifs pour la soupe de l’Escalade!
Cliquez ici pour les voir en plein cuisson.
Les élèves du groupe avancé de Year 5 et 6 lisent le livre Je m’appelle Maryam de Maryam Madjidi. À travers cette lecture, les enfants ont pu réfléchir aux raisons qui peuvent pousser une famille à tout abandonner pour partir dans un pays inconnu, où l’on ne maîtrise ni la langue, ni la culture du nouveau pays où on arrive. Ils ont exprimé ce que ressent cette petite fille qui doit quitter tout ce qu’elle connaît : ses amis, sa grand-mère, ses jouets.
L’analyse des illustrations du livre, la réflexion sur la difficulté de migrer dans un autre pays, ainsi que faire des prédictions sur le déroulement de l’histoire font partie des compétences que les élèves développent avec cette lecture. Ils ont ensuite travaillé sur l’écriture en apprenant les caractéristiques d’un journal intime, et ont rédigé une page de journal intime en s’imaginant à la place de la petite Maryam.
Vous trouverez des exemples de leurs travaux sur ce lien.
In this week’s session with guest speaker Nada Radwan Mounzer from Send My Friend to School, Year 3 and 4 students were very proactive! They were tasked with thinking of solutions to help reduce the amount of emergencies that negatively affect so many children’s education globally. Children’s ideas included taking a harder stance against pollution to avoid climate disasters and supporting more vaccination programmes to reduce the spread of disease.
We have a generation of budding activists amongst us!
Year 12 A Level P.E. students applied their skills to their theory lessons this week using different practice methods such as cognitive, association, autonomous and mental practice. They thoroughly enjoyed being active and linking what they learn to a practical situation.
Our A Level Chemistry students enjoyed a fascinating trip to the Scienscope of the University of Geneva this week for a practical workshop on chirality, a property of asymmetry whereby an object or system is distinguishable from its mirror image in that it cannot be superposed onto it (e.g. human hands). Our chemists learned that optical isomers of molecules are described as chiral and using the equipment available at the university, students were able to prove that optical isomers rotate the plane of polarisation using a polarimeter. They also gained an appreciation for the importance of chirality in everyday life, particularly in relation to drug design.
Beyond the rich exchange which they had with the researchers who led the workshop, aspiring scientists were also able to experience the laboratory conditions available at university level.
A big thank you goes to Dermot Feeney and Amik Lanfranco for organising this outing and for accompanying our students in their studies beyond the classroom.
Beyond the Classroom
Primary Maths Challenge
Our Year 6 students put their mathematical thinking caps on this week as they participated in the Primary Maths Challenge (PMC).
The PMC is a UK based maths competition which encourages enthusiasm and resilience and exposes our Year 6 children to a range of challenging and complex questions.
The children will receive a bronze, silver or gold certificate depending on their achievement. These will be given out in Assembly next week. Those who score highly have the chance to be invited to the PMC bonus round in February.
Secondary House Quiz
Congratulations to Rhône for coming first in the Secondary House Quiz this week! Working in mixed year House teams, our contestants answered a series of general knowledge questions which covered Geography, History and Mathematics. These included such questions as: “What percentage of Switzerland’s territory is covered by the Jura mountains?”, “Which French city is known for its 24-hour motor race?” or “When was GES founded?”
In total, 12 teams competed against each other, with the following results:
1st place: Rhône
2nd place (tie): Jura and Dôle
3rd place: Léman
Extra-Curricular Activities
Our young extra-curricular judokas took part in the Tournoi de promotion du Judo last weekend at the Centre sportif Sous-Moulin.
Facing some mighty opponents, they held their ground and competed admirably, and three of them arrived in 3rd place in their categories.
Well done Zane, Isaac and Ella!
The girls’ netball team gathered on Saturday afternoon at Ecolint-La Grande Boissière to compete against six schools in the Minimes Netball tournament. Excitement was high, and families were out in full force to cheer the team on, as were students Emma, Alex and Florrie, who came to support the girls.
The team played exceptionally well, winning every match except one. Their hard work and dedication throughout the tournament were evident, as they displayed strong teamwork and individual brilliance.
Results:
GES 3-5 La Châtaigneraie (Player of the Match: Esme)
GES 6-2 La Grande Boissière 1 (Player of the Match: Lea)
GES 6-4 Institut International de Lancy (Player of the Match: Esme)
GES 5-1 La Grande Boissière 2 (Player of the Match: Aleyna)
In the tournament, teams were awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. After all the matches, GES was tied on points with IIL, having won the same number of matches. The final ranking was decided by the number of goals scored, giving GES the edge and securing their victory.
The girls’ performance was outstanding. They communicated well, made improvements after each match, and adapted to new positions with ease. Notably, Johanna excelled as centre, while Salma impressed as wing defence. In defence, Esme and Chloe were solid, while the attacking side of Lea, Aleyna and Maisie C was nearly impossible to break down. The girls also displayed incredible sportsmanship, showing fairness and respect towards their opponents throughout the tournament.
Unlike the previous tournament, where the team felt they won due to a forfeit by another team, this time the girls played every match and won each one fairly and squarely—earning their victory through skill, determination, and teamwork.
Well done!
Click here for photos of our netballers in action.
Music rung out in school this week as no fewer than 18 of our musicians took turns enchanting the audience of parents, staff and peers during the Winter Recital. From saxophone to piano, from guitar to violin and voice performances, students transported us through classical and modern musical repertoires.
A big thank you goes to Lucie Goater, Lucy Colwill and Sian Humphreys for organising this event, as well as to all our wonderful Music teachers (listed below), whose lessons have helped build commitment and resilience in our musicians.
Music teachers
Piano – Kristina Annamukhamedova
Violin – Sofia Goncalves
Guitar – Kirby Bivans
Saxophone – Marquis’ McGee
Singing – Lucie Goater
School and Community News
Countdown to the Christmas Fair
The countdown continues with just 2 weeks left until the GES Christmas Fair.
Bring the kids along to visit Santa in his Grotto and get a chocolate selection box, make some (free!) Christmas decorations to take home, visit the face painting station or try your hand at throw the hoop over the nutcracker, with that and many other games run by the Primary School Council.
Our budding GES entrepreneurs are busy making ceramics, homemade Christmas decorations, candles, chocolates and more, all perfect for stocking fillers and gifts and the art club will be selling handmade Christmas cards.
If you get hungry there will be pizza, hotdogs, a Christmas bake sale, and of course the bar will be keeping the mulled wine warm.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered – particularly to all of our Santas. Without you, the event really wouldn’t be possible.
Out Now: The Deer, The Hare, The Owl and Me
Many of our primary children will remember hearing a very special story at the end of last academic year – one written by our Learning Assistant, Clare Nicholls.
Now published and available for purchase online, The Deer, The Hare, The Owl and Me is a beautifully illustrated and heartfelt tale. It follows a little girl as she journeys through a snowy forest, sharing a powerful message about embracing who you are, showing courage, and spreading kindness. Clare was inspired by the children of GES when writing this story, and you will find a touching dedication to them at the back of the book.
“For the children at Geneva English School, for enlightening me to the joy, delight and power of picture books, and just how much children adore them.”
Faces of GES
The Faces of GES champion this week is Amelia Bugeja, P.E. and Sports teacher who joined our school in September 2023. Before joining our school, Amelia spent two years living in the mountains of Val de Bagnes where she worked as a ski instructor for the Swiss Ski School and as a gymnastics coach and competition judge. She completed her PGCE in Physical Education at Verbier International School, where she taught for two years. She continues to coach gymnastics outside of school at her local club, and is especially proud of having helped one of her gymnasts qualify for the Swiss National Championships this year, the youngest competitor in his category!
Moved by the look on students’ faces as their confidence grows and they master new skills, Amelia prides herself on knowing every single child in Primary and almost all students in Secondary and enjoys sharing with them all the knowledge and experiences she has gained throughout her life in classes, tournaments, on the playground and in the hallways. Her greatest wish for her students? That they will always carry with them the joy of life that comes from continuous learning and staying active.
The first to cheer our athletes on at any sporting event, Amelia also enjoys the peace that silence brings. In fact, she once participated in a 10-day silent retreat in the Welsh countryside, which allowed her to reflect on what it means to be happy – something she truly experiences at GES.
