Best boarding schools in Switzerland: how to compare them

How to judge the best boarding schools in Switzerland

A ranking cannot tell you whether a school fits your child. A useful comparison of the best boarding schools in Switzerland starts from what your child needs, then checks what each school publishes about itself. This guide does not rank schools or call one better than another; it sets the 11 boarding houses listed on this site side by side on the criteria below.

• Exit diploma: the IB Diploma, A Levels, an American High School Diploma, the Swiss Maturité or the French Baccalauréat, matched to the universities your child is aiming for.
• Age range and boarding age: from which age or year a school takes boarders, and whether it offers weekly (5-day) as well as full boarding.
• Size and share of boarders: a school of 100 pupils and a campus of nearly 1,700 make for different daily lives.
• Setting and altitude: by the lake, on the terraces above it, or in an Alpine resort from 1,200 m.
• Teaching languages: English, French or a bilingual programme.
• Co-educational or girls only.
• Fees per year and the extras: registration fees, deposits, compulsory insurance or trips, and VAT.
• Accreditation and authorisations as the school states them, and its latest accreditation or inspection report, which you can ask to see.

The 11 boarding schools side by side

The table gives the basics as each school states them. Where a school does not publish a figure on the pages read, the cell says so. The overview of all 11 boarding schools by altitude links each house to its own page.

Curricula and exit diplomas

The exit diploma decides which university systems are open and how the last two years are organised. St. George's puts the difference plainly: the IB Diploma combines six subjects with three core components, while A-Level students specialise in three or four subjects (St. George's, A-Levels).

IB Diploma houses

Eight of the 11 houses teach the IB Diploma: Aiglon, Beau Soleil, Collège du Léman, ENSR, Haut-Lac, La Garenne, Leysin American School and St. George's. Beau Soleil offers it bilingual, in English or in French (Beau Soleil, IB and High School Diploma), and Haut-Lac offers advanced bilingual, bilingual, English-only or French-only pathways (Haut-Lac).

Collège du Léman and Haut-Lac also teach the IB Career-related Programme. Beau Soleil, Haut-Lac and La Garenne run the IB Middle Years Programme in the years before the diploma.

A Levels and IGCSE

A Levels are taught at three houses. Brillantmont states that it is the only school in the Lausanne area to offer both IGCSE and A Level alongside a US High School Diploma (Brillantmont). Chantemerle teaches IGCSE and A Levels in English in its Cambridge section (Chantemerle), and St. George's offers A-Levels in Years 12 and 13 as an alternative to the IB Diploma. IGCSEs are also taught at Aiglon, Collège du Léman, La Garenne and St. George's, in the two years before the final diplomas.

American boarding schools in Switzerland

Leysin American School teaches Grades 7 to 12 and offers a US High School Diploma, the IB Diploma, Advanced Placement courses and an English Language Acquisition programme (LAS, Academics and Programs; LAS, About). A US or American-style High School Diploma is also offered at Beau Soleil, Brillantmont, Collège du Léman (with AP courses), Haut-Lac and Surval Montreux (accredited by Cognia and with AP courses, according to an archived copy of its Key Information page, 11 April 2026). Aiglon and La Garenne award their own High School Diploma as an alternative to the IB Diploma (Aiglon, Inspiration Years; La Garenne).

Swiss Maturité and French Baccalauréat

Three houses teach the Swiss Maturité: Chantemerle in French, ENSR, and Collège du Léman in a bilingual English and French version. Collège du Léman is also the only one of the 11 houses that teaches the French Baccalauréat (Collège du Léman, High School).

Boarding ages, weekly and full boarding

Boarding ages vary widely. La Garenne houses primary boarders in Years 1 to 6 in Chalet La Garenne (La Garenne) and lists a 2026/27 boarding fee for those years (La Garenne, General Conditions 2026-2027). Chantemerle takes day pupils from 6 and boarders from 9 (Chantemerle), and Aiglon boards from Year 5 in two junior houses, La Baita for boys and La Casa for girls (Aiglon, Junior School).

Collège du Léman and St. George's board from 10 (Collège du Léman, Boarding; St. George's), Beau Soleil and Haut-Lac from 11, and Surval Montreux from 12. ENSR's boarding page gives 12 to 18, while its 2026/27 fee schedule lists boarding from Grade 5, age 11 (ENSR, Annual fees 2026/2027). Brillantmont teaches ages 13 to 18, and Leysin American School starts at Grade 7. Five houses publish weekly boarding, with weekends at home:

• Chantemerle: 5-day boarding without weekends and school breaks, 7-day boarding, or a flexible formula (Chantemerle; Tarifs 2026-2027).
• ENSR: 5-day and 7-day boarding; laundry and weekends are included for 7-day boarders only (Annual fees 2026/2027).
• Haut-Lac: 7 days or 5 days a week, for ages 11 to 18 (Haut-Lac, Boarding).
• St. George's: weekly and full boarding for boys and girls aged 10 to 18 (St. George's, Boarding).
• Surval Montreux: weekly boarding for families living in Switzerland, for girls aged 11 to 18 according to that page (Surval, Weekly boarding, archived copy of 18 May 2026).

The other six houses publish no weekly option on the pages read, and Beau Soleil states that almost all of its 300 students are full-time boarders (Beau Soleil). Admissions, timing and the questions to ask are covered in how to choose a Swiss boarding school.

Size, languages and co-education

Size shapes daily life. Brillantmont has 80 to 90 pupils (Brillantmont, Our School) and Chantemerle 100, of whom 45 board (Chantemerle); La Garenne has about 200 and Leysin American School 280 (LAS, Admissions). Beau Soleil has about 300, almost all boarders, and Aiglon 500, of whom 76% board (Aiglon, Frequent Questions).

Collège du Léman has nearly 1,700 pupils, with 280 boarders on its About page and boarding for 250 on its Boarding Houses page (Collège du Léman, About; Collège du Léman, Boarding Houses). ENSR (over 600 pupils) and Haut-Lac (about 600) have small boarding houses by comparison: 60 places at ENSR (ENSR, Boarding) and up to 40 at Haut-Lac. St. George's and Surval Montreux give no pupil number on the pages read.

Teaching languages vary as much. Chantemerle teaches its Swiss section in French and its Cambridge section in English; ENSR and Collège du Léman teach in French and English; Haut-Lac offers bilingual English-French or English-only programmes. La Garenne teaches in English with French compulsory until 16 (La Garenne), St. George's in English with bilingual pathways including French (St. George's), and Surval Montreux in English and French (Surval, Key Information, archived copy of 11 April 2026).

Surval Montreux is a girls' school for ages 12 to 19 (Surval Montreux, archived copy of 31 August 2026). Aiglon (51% boys, 49% girls), Beau Soleil, Brillantmont, Chantemerle, Collège du Léman, ENSR, La Garenne and St. George's state that they teach boys and girls. Beau Soleil, Brillantmont and Collège du Léman house boys and girls in separate boarding houses, and La Garenne's house for 11 to 13-year-olds puts them on separate floors (Beau Soleil, Boarding Houses; Brillantmont, Boarding; Collège du Léman, Boarding Houses; La Garenne, Boarding Life).

Lake, terraces or Alps: setting and elevation

Measured with swisstopo's point-height service at each school's street address on 23 September 2026, the 11 houses stand between 410 m at Collège du Léman and 1,435 m at Leysin American School (swisstopo, Get Point Height). On the site's altitude bands (lake below 480 m, terraces from 480 to 1,199 m, Alps from 1,200 m) they fall into three settings.

• By the lake, below 480 m: Collège du Léman (Versoix, 410 m) and St. George's (Clarens, 414 m).
• On the terraces, 480 to 1,199 m: Brillantmont (Lausanne, 549 m), Surval Montreux (Route de Glion, 576 m), ENSR (Lausanne, 595 m), Haut-Lac (Saint-Légier, 615 m) and Chantemerle (Blonay, 679 m).
• In the Alps, from 1,200 m: Aiglon (Chesières-Villars, 1,227 m), Beau Soleil (Villars-sur-Ollon, 1,241 m), La Garenne (Villars-sur-Ollon, 1,278 m) and Leysin American School (Leysin, 1,435 m).

The seven houses on and above the lake are compared in boarding schools in Geneva and on Lake Geneva, with their day places, weekly boarding and the travel times the schools publish. The four Alpine houses follow here.

Ski boarding schools: the four houses in Villars and Leysin

For families looking for a ski boarding school in Switzerland, the four Alpine houses on this site all include skiing in their winter programme. What each one states:

• Aiglon: winter sessions on the slopes twice a week, taught by local professional ski school instructors in groups by year and level, plus weekend skiing (Aiglon, Sport).
• Beau Soleil: ski and snowboard training each week in winter, with downhill racing, freestyle, Nordic and touring among the disciplines (Beau Soleil).
• La Garenne: ski lessons in winter for boarders, and a 2026/27 boarding fee that includes the ski pass and the hire of the ski uniform (La Garenne, Boarding Life; General Conditions 2026-2027).
• Leysin American School: skiing every Tuesday and Thursday in winter from what the school calls a ski-in, ski-out campus, with the ski pass and group ski or snowboard lessons included in 2026/27 tuition (LAS, About; LAS, Financial Information 2026-2027).

No house on this list is in Gstaad. Le Rosey, outside our list, runs its Winter Campus there (Institut Le Rosey).

Fees 2026/27 side by side

Compare the full year rather than the tuition line. The table lists each house's 2026/27 boarding fee with a link to the school's own schedule and its date.

Three things change the picture: one-off payments on entry, such as registration fees and deposits; compulsory extras outside tuition, such as insurance, trips or exam fees; and what the fee includes. Leysin American School's 2026/27 tuition includes the ski pass, the school health plan (a contribution of CHF 300 per semester is charged to the personal account), the Swiss residence permit and a laptop (LAS, Financial Information 2026-2027), and Collège du Léman's boarding fee covers tuition and boarding together (Collège du Léman, General Conditions 2026-2027). Year groups, one-off payments and extras for every house are set out in Swiss boarding school fees 2026/27, and the highest fees worldwide in the most expensive schools in the world.

Accreditation and school groups, as the schools state them

Accreditation means an outside body has reviewed a school against its standards. CIS is the Council of International Schools and NEASC the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; ask any school for its latest report rather than relying on a logo.

Other Swiss boarding schools outside our list

Le Rosey and Institut auf dem Rosenberg have their own pages with fees and details: Le Rosey and Institut auf dem Rosenberg. Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, TASIS, Collège Champittet and Institut Montana have no page on this site, so ask them directly for their current fee schedules.

How to build a shortlist

1. 1Fix the exit diplomaStart from the university systems your child is aiming for and keep only the houses that teach the matching diploma.
2. 2Decide on boarding age and rhythmCheck from which age each house boards, and whether weekly boarding exists if you live in Switzerland or nearby.
3. 3Choose lake, terraces or AlpsThe setting decides the daily routine, the winter and the trip home. Visit in term time if you can.
4. 4Compare the full-year costAdd deposits, compulsory extras and VAT to the tuition figure, using each school's current schedule.
5. 5Ask for the documentsRequest the latest accreditation or inspection report, the boarding handbook and the safeguarding policy before you decide.

We are an independent search and selection service. We put the current published figures in front of a family and suggest a shortlist of houses, with the reason for each; ask us for a shortlist and we answer within 24 hours.