About us
Surval Montreux is a small international boarding school for girls between the ages of 13 and 19.
STUDENTS
AGE
13 – 19
Years old
STUDENT
BODY
Circa
80 students
TEACHING LANGUAGE
English
DIPLOMA
COURSE
High School, IGCSE
BOARDING SCHOOL
Yes – GIRLS ONLY
Surval Montreux is a small international boarding school for girls between the ages of 13 and 19. Set in a stunning location in the slopes above Montreux, it looks out across the Lake Geneva to the mountains beyond.
It is here that we offer girls the opportunity to love learning, to develop and grow intellectually, personally, and spiritually, and to become leaders. Without the possible distraction of boys, girls have not just equal opportunity but every opportunity to take the lead. They will be the leaders of the school community, helping to make decisions about their facilities and enrichment courses: they will have leading parts in the plays we produce, in musical activities, in sport, and in the charities we support both locally and further afield.
Every door is open to them as they develop into independent young women who have grown up in an international community and do not just tolerate, but truly understand, the value and importance of the beliefs, customs and traditions of others. They will be girls who will bring their intelligence, their understanding, and their sense of social responsibility to the service of the communities in which they will live.
We invite you most warmly to come and visit us – for any girl to come and stay for a day or two to experience boarding life in this wonderful environment – or, if you cannot visit, to take advantage of our website, our videos of school life and the personal visits I shall be making to a range of international cities. I look forward to meeting you.
LOCATION
Surval Montreux is set in a former hotel in a stunning hillside location just above the town of Montreux-the centre of the Montreux Riviera. The school minibus drives girls down to Montreux at regular intervals during the late afternoon and early evening so they can enjoy walking, cycling or roller skating along the lakeside promenade: or simply enjoy a coffee or hot chocolate with their friends in one of the many cafés. High quality shops are always an attraction, and in winter the Christmas Market provides an ideal shopping opportunity for unusual presents, as well as purpose- built cafés and restaurants, many devoted to the traditional fondue.
Route de Glion 56
1820 Montreux
Switzerland
ENRICHMENT
No school course, however well designed, can be complete in itself. The whole concept of enrichment must be an integral part, not an add-on, taking the girls beyond the syllabus and classroom learning to stretch their minds and inspire them further in all areas of their personal development. Our enrichment programme does this. Girls will have the opportunity to try a wide range of activities, academic, creative, sporting, dramatic and musical, as well as participating in charity work locally and in the wider world.
The key is to try new things, to ’have a go’ without feeling embarrassed or constrained by a lack of ability to shine. You don’t have to be brilliant at things to be able to enjoy them. We are looking for girls who are unafraid to take a risk, within or beyond the classroom: girls who understand that they learn as much from the occasional failure as from success.
Enrichment opportunities include debating and public speaking, with the chance to participate in the Model United Nations and perhaps European Youth Parliament competitions: film club, style analysis, school magazine, poetry club, creative writing, drama club, book club, art club, jewellery making, knitting, maths club, cookery and pastry club, charity work with Cartons du Coeur, and with international charities in which our alumnae play a prominent part: singing to and entertaining those in local homes for the elderly, or junior schools; International Award (known in Britain as The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme) and many others.
On the sporting side we are introducing Ski Thursday, where girls can ski or snowboard for a half or full day at one of the nearby resorts, and also take part in a number of snow based activities. The tennis court will be flooded and frozen so girls can skate every day in the winter. In the summer, Sport Thursday allows the girls a day of water based activities on Lake Geneva, where they can experience water skiing, boarding, sailing, kayaking and of course swimming at the Olympic size pool nearby. In addition to the timetabled sports lessons girls currently have the following clubs and activities; aerobics, gymnastics, yoga, running, ballet, tennis, walking, volleyball, fitness, hiking, biking, rollerblading and dance.
The trips and excursion programme encourages girls to get involved in both cultural and sporting activities, from the Qin exhibition with the Terracotta warriors, and the Tutankhamun in Geneva, to the world’s highest alpine coaster at Les Diablerets, zip wires or the aquapark. Weekend and week- long excursions are made to more distant locations such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Istanbul, Rome, Abu Dhabi, Moscow or Beijing, with new destinations added each year.
A rich offering indeed!