Dear Parents,

Welcome back to Geneva English School, and a special welcome to our over forty new students and their families!! I am delighted that the new academic year has got off to a fabulous start. Our first three days have been full of activity and excitement, and our classrooms, hallways and playgrounds have been full of happy children. It’s been wonderful seeing them rush to greet the friends they’ve missed, and hearing tales of their summertime adventures.

From my perspective, the summer was a busy one with much going on in school, closing out 2023-2024 and preparing for a fresh start for 2024-2025. Without a doubt, high points were the announcement of our student’s exam results, first for A Levels, then GCSE. Last year’s Year 11 and Year 13 classes did their teachers and our community proud, achieving results well above the averages for British schools in the UK and worldwide (see details below), and our graduates are going on to top universities far and wide. I know that I speak for all my colleagues in saying that I am overjoyed for our Year 13 leavers and very optimistic about their bright futures ahead.

In our freshly painted and refurbished Primary school, there has been, to quote Mr Vavrecka (Year 3 teacher), a wonderful, “purposeful calm” since our rentrée on Wednesday. Children have been delighted to meet their new teachers, settle into their classrooms, make new friends, and get down to the business of learning. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting every class since Wednesday and was particularly tickled by Miss Sawyer’s Year 4 class, who, when given the opportunity to ask their teacher any five questions they wanted, used one of the five to find out whether she likes pigs!

Yesterday evening’s Primary Curriculum and Social Event was a great success, with a terrific turnout in all year groups and comprehensive overviews by class teachers of what children will learn this year in each subject area. These talks complemented the presentation given online on Wednesday by Madame Durey on how our French curriculum is taught, and all presentations will shortly be available for you to review on My School Portal. Thank you to our teachers for preparing these materials and to our parent community for your participation and meaningful questions.

This morning’s assembly for children in Years 1 to 6 was a perfect opportunity to top off our first week with a discussion of GES values, how we must all behave with kindness and respect for those around us, what to do when we feel we need help, and other important aspects of our day-to-day life at school.

In Secondary, the school year started according to plan with an assembly for each Key Stage, setting the tone for the year and our expectations for all, the distribution of MacBooks and iPads to students (now all done, including chargers!), allocation of lockers, and other administrative necessities. Students and their tutors had the opportunity to get to know each other before subject teachers began to introduce the content of their courses.

At 160 Route de Suisse, too, the day ended calmly – that is, until 9:00pm when a fire broke out a floor above our school, causing quite some animation for a small blaze that was quickly contained and extinguished. Thankfully, there was no damage at all to GES premises and, more importantly, no one was hurt. I was advised yesterday by representatives of the fire brigade and the Hospice Général that an investigation is underway regarding the cause of the fire, and I will share any information I receive on that topic.

I look forward to seeing many parents in Versoix this evening for the Secondary Curriculum and Social Event. If you have a child in Years 7 to 13, remember that presentations will be given at the times indicated below, but we hope you will come for longer to mingle and enjoy an apéro with staff and parents.

• KS3 – Year 7 – 17:00
• KS3 – Years 8 and 9 – 17:30
• KS4 – Years 10 and 11 – 18:00
• KS5 – Years 12 and 13 – 18:30

A very big thank you to members of the GES Parent Association for organising the picnic that took place on the Primary field on Tuesday, immediately following our Orientation Events on both campuses. As is the case every year, this gathering provided a chance for GES veterans to warmly welcome newly arriving families and for children to begin to make friends. This event always goes a long way toward reducing first-day-of-school jitters, and this year was no exception. It was brilliant to see quite a few families from Secondary attend, proving that there’s just no shaking an attachment to Primary, where the GES journey started for so many.

More information will come soon about the GES Parent Association and how you can join. For now, many thanks to those of you who have taken on the role of Class Parent Representatives; you are a vital part of our community, facilitating communication between families and school and the smooth integration of families new to GES. I know that every member of staff is grateful for all you do. Enthusiastic volunteers are encouraged to take part in the planning and running of events, and your time and dedication will be immensely appreciated by all.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to a few housekeeping items:

• Please don’t forget to ensure your details are up to date in My School Portal and complete the Medical and Emergency Contacts Forms for each of your children. This information is critical in case your child ever falls ill in school or is injured in an accident. Of course, we hope never to have to refer to these contact forms, but we ask you to take our preparedness as seriously as we do.

• If you haven’t yet done so, consider enrolling your children for hot lunches. Meals are tasty, varied and nutritious, and you can decide anytime through the year.

• Help to keep our children safe at Primary by paying close attention to the priority given to traffic in front of the school, as indicated on road signs, and at Secondary by dropping off and picking up in the underground garage. We appreciate your care in this regard.

• Remember that next week is only a three-day week in school (Monday to Wednesday) and we will enjoy an extra long weekend thanks to the Jeûne Genevois holiday taking place on Thursday 5th and our “making the bridge” on Friday 6th September. If you are unfamiliar with this local tradition, read all about it below.

Once more before I sign off, welcome, everyone, to our new beginning. I feel profoundly happy that we are here together and I can’t wait to experience this school year with you and your children.

All the best,

Christina Matillon

Grades A* and A are the benchmark for excellence at A Level. With 31% of our students scoring top marks, and 41% of all grades at A*-A, GES students scored 50% above results for A Level exam-takers in the UK and worldwide! Other highlights include:

• 1 in 5 students achieved all A*-A grades
• 1 in 4 students achieved the highest grade possible, at least one A* grade
• Offers at universities in UK, Europe, North and South America

Three of our graduating class this year are progressing to study at the University of Cambridge, and 38% in total are heading to Russell Group universities in the UK. GES students will also shine this year at universities in France and Spain. We know they will truly put our school on the international university map!

Not to be outdone, our GCSE students achieved excellent results as well. 12% of the grades awarded to our students were a 9 (the highest possible grade), more than twice the average of all students in the UK (just 5%). A total of 41% of our entries received a grade 7 or above, the equivalent to an A grade, again twice the average of students in the UK. Other highlights:

• Each of our “Triple Science” students achieved a grade of 9 in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
• Year 10 students who took language GCSEs as early entries this year have performed incredibly well with 100% grade 9 – the highest distinction. Languages include French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian.

A hearty congratulations to GES students for their outstanding work, and to parents and staff who inspired, cared for and supported them along the way!

Little Ducklings are our free stay and play group for families with children aged from birth to 4 years old.

Hosted by our Early Years team, sessions take place weekly on Thursdays from 9:00 to 10:00 at our Primary school site in Genthod in the dance hall.  It is a wonderful opportunity to meet new families and for babies and children to interact with others.

To sign up, please fill in this registration form.

Here is some advice for new joiners: welcome to the group!

• The session timings are from 9:00 to 10:00. Child napping, running late? Please don’t worry. Each session is relaxed and flexible; there is plenty of space for sleeping children in buggies, and you can join as soon as you are ready.
• We will be based indoors this term and so invite you to bring clean indoor shoes for your children in case of wet weather.
• There is a variety of activities which can get messy: a change of clothes is also recommended.
• We often read a story or sing a song together towards the end of the hour.

Please remember that nuts should not be brought into school in any shape or form due to allergies amongst students and staff. 

Those who suffer from nut allergies can develop a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.

Please avoid nut products in lunch boxes or brought into the school as treats.

For example:

• Peanut butter sandwiches
• Chocolate spreads
• Some cereal or granola bars
• Cakes that contain nuts
• Biscuits / Cookies that contain nuts
• Sauces that contain nuts, e.g. pesto

This list is not exhaustive, so please check the packaging of products closely.

We appreciate that this is an additional thing to check and we know that you recognise the importance of it. Thank you in advance for your support.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.