Issue: 18 | Friday 31st January 2025

Message from Ms Matillon, Director General

Dear Parents,

Thank you for taking the time to peruse this week’s newsletter. I hope you will enjoy reading about the classroom learning and many activities in which your children have taken part this week. Behind the scenes, things have been busy too, as our planning for the 2025-2026 academic year is in full swing. Starting with the subject selections of our A Level and GCSE students, this is the time of year in which we begin setting the foundations for next year’s classes and timetables for the whole school. It is a detailed process with many moving parts, and an exciting time as we look toward the bright future of our school.

By now you will have seen the announcement of our tuition fees for 2025-2026 sent earlier today. Along with the many promises Douglas Crawford made last May, he stated that school fees will not be increased for our next academic year. I am very pleased that our financial position has allowed us to go one step further. From August 2025, we will reduce fees for Pre-school and Reception classes by one fifth, lightening the financial burden for parents by providing the highest quality education to our youngest students.

You may recall that I mentioned in a newsletter at the end of November that we were to welcome an inspector from the Geneva Ministry for Education, the Département de l’instruction publique (DIP). This inspector came to visit both campuses in early December and, this week, sent us a detailed report on his findings. In it he stated that he found no issues or problems to address, and that he has no recommendations for necessary improvements. In my more than dozen years of experience preparing for and receiving results of DIP inspections, this is, as they say, as good as it gets! This result reflects all the great things I see at GES every day, and it is wonderful to know that an objective, expert observer is so impressed with our school, too.

Saving the best for last, I would like to personally congratulate our four Year 13 students who have received offers to attend the University of Cambridge next year. Having one in six members of our graduating class achieve this level of success, particularly as ours is a non-selective school, is a true testament to the dedication and quality of work of our students and their teachers, and to Mr Crabtree’s wisdom and steady guiding hand in leading them through the university selection and application process. Well done for this outstanding achievement which has made all of us at school very proud!

All the best,

Christina Matillon

Outdoor Trip to Engelberg

Year 10 to 12 had a superb time during their much-awaited Duke of Edinburgh International Award outdoor trip to Engelberg. Starting the day with an exciting session of sledging, our adventurers enjoyed perfect slopes and the exhilarating speed of rushing down the mountain.

In the evening, our mountaineers stayed in a cozy refuge, the Brunnihutte, which was the perfect spot to relax after a busy day.

Their second day was dedicated to a hike back down to the train station, during which they enjoyed spectacular views along the whole route.

Click here for photos.

This week in class

Year 2 continued their investigations into monoprinting this week, drawing inspiration from Botswanan artist Xgaoc’o X’are.

They explored a new method of printing using carbon paper to create their own prints inspired by his work, using African animals as their theme. The highlight of this lesson was that the children completed it entirely in French, naming and counting the animals, following instructions for the printing method and sharing their ideas and feelings about this technique and its results. Bravo Classe 2!

See photos here.

Year 3 enjoyed a cross-curricular lesson in French this week. As part of their Humanities curriculum on Ancient Egypt, they discovered interesting facts about Egypt, sorted animals into those that live in the desert and those from the Nile, naming each of them in French. Using French vocabulary, they also discussed pyramids and sarcophagi, and even enjoyed an Egyptian nursery rhyme, identifying words in Arabic such as “vélo” and “papa” in the song.

To finish, they watched an excerpt from the beloved Astérix et Obélix cartoon set in Ancient Egypt, which filled the class with laughter!

Photos are available here.

Year 5 have been learning about the importance of Viking runes and how they were more than just a writing system. Symbolic in nature, Viking runes were not only used for communication but also to represent beliefs, protection, and identity. Inspired by this different script, students designed their own runes linked to our school values and explained how their designs symbolised each of them.

Next step: creating a class display of their runes about our school!

Click here for photos.

In Year 7 Geography, students have been studying the geography of the Middle East. As part of this, they had a Geography Challenge on the physical features of the region! The top 5 times came in as follows:

  1. Jaylen – 21.659 seconds
  2. Isabelle – 24.235 seconds
  3. Kyle – 24.856 seconds
  4. Lara – 25.947 seconds
  5. Vivan – 26.808 seconds

Well done to our geographers for their speedy responses!

Have a go at the challenge, and see if you can make the leaderboard yourself.

Year 10 literature students went on a chase this week, nose-diving into Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to find the perfect quote to justify their assertions on the character traits of the two star-crossed lovers.

Year 12 A Level P.E. students collaborated to identify the relationships between sports, the media and business (also known as the golden triangle). Plotting their findings on a chart, they considered both the positive and negative effects on each of the three.

This session formed part of their unit on the globalisation of sports.

Beyond the classroom

Year 4 Trip to the Olympic Museum

Year 4 enjoyed a fascinating tour of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Following their History unit on Ancient Greece, they took part in an interactive workshop where they learned about the Ancient Olympics and tried out three different sports, just as the ancient Olympians would have done – long jump, discus and boxing.

Our historians then joined an informative tour of the museum, enjoying the interactive exhibits. They were even able to race against Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint time.

Explore the photos in this link.

Kick-off to the House Football Tournament

Our traditional House football tournament kicked off this week, with exciting and closely contested matches over two rounds that saw Léman take the overall lead after two victories over Jura, with a total of 4 goals, and Dôle coming second with 3 goals. Jura and Rhône have ended up with 2 points each. With score-lines this tight the tournament is still anyone’s to win, and we look forward to more sporting action in the next round matches!

View photos of the matches.

Year 8 Science Penguin House Competition

Inspired by the shelters built for the African penguins in Boulders Beach, South Africa, our Year 8 were hard at work building their own penguin shelters. Applying their knowledge of heat transfer and sustainability, they constructed shelters that were able to deter predatory seagulls as well as protect the penguins and their eggs from the intense sunlight and heat.

The students came up with many unique designs, each of which were tested in a simulation of a sunny beach. Mr MacLean and Mr Feeney determined the best shelters based on several criteria including their design, efficiency, and environmental impact.

In third place, there was a tie between teams JAM Penguins (James, Adam, and Mariana) and Property Penguin (Caoimhe, Anna, and Disa).

Coming in second was team The Men (Noah Walker, Guillermo, and Ozzy).

Claiming first prize was team Seagull Swatters (Miatta, Angelica, and Lila). Commenting on their victory, our champions said: “We really didn’t expect it, but we are super proud as they announced our group name !

Well done to the winners and runners-up !

Photos are available here.

Secondary Assembly on Holocaust Day

As part of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, Secondary students took part in an assembly during which they looked at information shared by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Studying concentration camps through the prism of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army in 1945, they learned about the 10 stages of genocide as defined by Gregory H. Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, and examined post-World War II genocides such as those of Cambodia (1975-1979), Rwanda (1994) and Bosnia (1995).

Humbled by what they discussed, students came out of their assembly with renewed resolve to model integrity, kindness and tolerance for a better future.

Lunar New Year Celebrations in Pre-school

This morning, Pre-school had a very special visitor come to talk to them about Lunar New Year. Bernice, Mannie’s Mum, spoke to the children about the origins of Lunar New Year, the mythical creature Nian and the traditions of warding off bad luck and welcoming prosperity. She very kindly gifted the children a special red envelope to bring them good luck in the coming year and brought in some delicious traditional food for them to taste.

The morning’s event sparked a real interest for the children and they are excited to continue their learning about Lunar New Year next week.

Click here for photos.

Community News

February Reading Challenge

Join us in celebrating the art of storytelling in February!

Your challenge: bringing a well-known story to life by telling as many stories to friends, family, younger children, pets or even your cuddly toys.

Remember to note down all the stories you tell on the storyteller’s sheet available on My School Portal so you can receive your certificate and earn stars for your House.

Medals for our Ski Champion

Year 6 student Kai secured a close second place in the Under-12 Coupe de Bronze Giant Slalom Race in Les Carroz, and earlier this month he achieved first place in the same competition held in Morillon! These are truly remarkable accomplishments, especially considering Kai is competing against children who live in the mountains and ski far more frequently than he does.

Bravo Kai!

Skier Alice Brings Home the Bronze

Ski champion Alice in Year 4 came in third place in the U10s slalom at the Welsh Alpine Championships in Les Crozets last week, as well as sixth in the U10s giant slalom (the quickest girl born in 2016!).

This Sunday, Alice will be competing at La Dôle as part of the Ski Romand Raiffeisen Cup series. We wish her the best of luck!

Winter Clothes Collection to support Ukraine and Moldova

Should you have any winter clothes which your family no longer wears or has grown out of, please drop these off at the Primary campus on the ground floor of the Jura building on Monday 10 February 2025.

Donations can include the following items:

  • Winter clothing for all ages; from babies to adults
  • Underwear as new
  • Bedding: pillow covers or duvet covers only
  • Towels
  • Shoes or boots – in a separate bag (ski boots cannot be accepted)

All items must be clean, in good condition and wearable/usable. Please place your donations inside a black rubbish bag (max 60L) to keep them protected whilst they are being transported. All donations will be distributed where they are most needed.

Thank you for your help and we look forward to a very successful collection.

GES on the Airwaves

If you missed the live broadcast on WRS, tune in here to listen to Head of Secondary Admissions, Sabine Hutcheson, outlining our approach to outdoor education from Pre-School all the way to A Level.

Touching on the different opportunities that GES provides to students both on and off campus, including our dedicated primary outdoor classrooms and our Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award programme for upper secondary students, Sabine also highlights different ways that families can take advantage of the fabulous natural environment that surrounds us in Switzerland to help children learn outdoors and develop healthy habits.

Faces of GES

This week’s Face of GES is Head of History, John McSweeney, who joined GES at the beginning of this academic year after teaching positions in Rome and the UK.

A passionate believer in the power of historical study to give students the analytical tools to engage critically with the world around them, challenge misinformation and see through the distortions that arise from the modern world’s reliance on algorithms, John has also experienced historical events first-hand, having volunteered as a human rights observer in a conflict zone.

Since arriving at GES, John has been impressed by the enthusiasm and engagement of the student body, and the commitment and friendliness of the GES staff team, who may be lucky enough one day to experience John’s hidden talent as a baker!