La Garenne

About us

Welcome to La Garenne International School, situated in the French speaking part of Switzerland and created as a prestigious boarding school in 1947.

ACADEMIC COURSES

IPC, MYP, IB and High School Diplomas

BOARDING SCHOOL

La Garenne International School welcomes boarding and day students, aged from 5-18 from all over the world. French and English are the two languages taught in the official curriculum and spoken within the school. However, after school clubs offer Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, English, French and Russian.

The aim of the school is to enhance a student’s academic strengths, sports talent and artistic abilities within a warm family setting.

We are proud to offer a large variety of extracurricular activities to develop independence, endurance and team spirit. These activities challenge and stimulate each and every student. We hope that the following pages will give you an insight into life at La Garenne. It would be a pleasure to accompany you, whilst visiting our modern facilities and meeting our international family.

La Garenne School is a member of the following associations:

• AVDEP (Vaud Association of Private Schools)
• FSEP (Swiss Federation of Private Schools)
• Swiss Private School Association
• International Primary Curriculum (IPC)
• Cambridge English Language
• SGIS (Swiss Group of International Schools)
• La Garenne has been certified by QSC (Qualify School Certification). Also, we are certified for the Cambridge Examination.

CURRICULUM

Learning at La Garenne is about developing the skills, knowledge and understanding of each individual student to be a lifelong learner through the process of enquiry, enjoyable experiences and continuous thinking.

LOCATION

Set in splendid alpine surroundings, La Garenne boasts an excellent location. Our campus is built on an old mountain pasture and designed to satisfy perfectly the needs of the children. The school is well-equipped allowing a variety of activities and a high level of performance.

Perched at an altitude of 1300m, Villars-sur-Ollons faces the sun whilst being refreshed by alpine air. In this healthy and invigorating atmosphere with virtues that have been recognised for hundreds of years, this old mountain pasture offers an extraordinary panorama. Surrounded by majestic mountain tops which include Mont Blanc, Villars-sur-Ollon overlooks the Rhone Valley and the Swiss Riviera. Therefore, the children can enjoy the pleasures of both the mountain and the lake whilst benefitting from the cultural and educational activities offered by the cities which populate the banks of the lake (Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva).

Situated at the edge of the village, the school is away from traffic and main roads. The village centre and its facilities (train and bus station, shops, playgrounds, sports grounds, swimming pool, bowling alley, cinema, ice-skating rink etc.) are accessible by foot in just a few minutes. In winter, the ski lift is two minutes from the school and the children ski straight back to the school.

Chemin des Chavasses 23 1885 Chesières / Villars-sur-Ollon Switzerland

The students are divided between three well-equipped boarding houses (Swiss chalets). Most of the rooms have ensuite bathrooms.

Built on an old mountain pasture, the campus is organised around the main building, an authentic yet modernised, well-equipped Swiss chalet. Designed to accomodate young students, it is comprised of classrooms, a dining room, an office and the accomodation of the directors and the boarders.

Furthermore, the campus boasts two newer chalets reserved for the older girls who board here (with a live-in adult who is responsible for them) and additional classrooms.

Two further buildings enrich the campus; one is devoted to the arts (music and visual arts), the other with information technology. These buildings are situated amongst a tree-filled garden which also contains our sports ground, a double trampoline, table-tennis tables, table football, swings, an adventure playground and play houses.

The students are divided between three modern and well-equipped boarding chalets. Most of the rooms have ensuite bathrooms.

Built on an old mountain pasture, the campus is organised around the main building, an authentic Swiss chalet known as Chalet La Garenne. Designed for the youngest students, it comprises classrooms, a refectory, offices and accommodation for the boarding students and their house parents.

Chalet Beau Site just next door is home to students aged from 11 to 13. All rooms have spectacular views and students are able to relax in comfortable lounges when they are not studying or doing sport. Chalet Beau Site also houses a dedicated art workshops and a multi-purpose music and exercise space.

Five minutes away is Chalet Le Roc which is a state-of-the-art building which is not just home to our teenage students, but also houses classrooms, a gym, a dance space, a stunning art room, a Community Floor and a large and welcoming refectory and reception area. It is next to the main Villars ski lift, enabling ski-in, ski-out for students in the winter.

One further building completes the campus: our teaching block known as Academia, where students aged from 5 to 13 have their lessons. It contains a library, classrooms, the academic office and a flexible teaching space on the top floor.

Outside, students enjoy spacious relaxation and sports facilities, including basketball courts, trampolines and children’s play equipment.

The school invests constantly in its modernisation and in the improvement of its facilities, whilst preserving its role as a traditional symbol of the Swiss landscape.

House parents reside in the chalets and create a homely atmosphere for the students. They are there to encourage, support, and help the students to be responsible young adults. Special evenings are organised to celebrate birthdays, festivals and Swiss National Day.

The rooms accommodate between two and four children and the children have use of a desk and another cupboard for their personal belongings. The bedrooms are reserved for reading, relaxing and listening to music.

Every child is allocated a locker in the downstairs changing rooms in which they can store their outdoor wear and sports equipment.

Perched at an altitude of 1300m, Villars-sur-Ollons faces the sun whilst being refreshed by fresh alpine air. In this healthy and invigorating atmosphere with virtues that have been recognised for hundreds of years, this mountain retreat offers an extraordinary panorama to majestic mountain tops including Mont Blanc.

Students can enjoy the pleasures of both the mountain and the lake whilst benefiting from the cultural and educational activities offered by lakeside towns such as Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva.

Situated at the edge of the village, the school is away from traffic and main roads. The village centre and its facilities (train and bus station, shops, playgrounds, sports grounds, swimming pool, bowling alley, cinema, ice-skating rink etc.) are accessible on foot in just a few minutes. In winter, the ski lift is two minutes from the school and the children ski straight back to the school.

About us

Founded in 1947 and run by the second generation of the Méan family,

STAY LENGTH

Summer: 2-6 weeks Winter: Minimum one week

CAMP DATES

Winter: January 8th 2023, March 17th 2023 Summer: June, August 2023

FEES

Summer: From CHF 5,500 (Day Students), CHF 6,100 (Boarders) Winter: From CHF 3,150 (Day Students), CHF 3,500 (Boarders)

La Garenne International School has been running a popular winter camp for many years. We welcome young people from all over the world to our winter camp, which runs between January and March every year for students aged from 6 and 16 years old.

Winter Camp Dates

Our winter camps run from January to March, and we offer both day camps and boarding camps. The minimum stay is one week.

Winter Sports

Winter sports make up the bulk of our winter camp activities, and we provide both skiing and snowboarding lessons. We offer lessons for complete beginners right up to advanced skiers of all ages so everyone will be placed into a class that is suitable for their skill level.

Winter sports lessons can be combined with academic lessons alongside our existing students. Alternatively, Winter Campers can spend the day on the slopes with no academic lessons. Both options provide students with plenty of opportunities to improve their skills. Beginners can start with parallel turns, while intermediate and advanced skiers will go higher up the mountain and get the chance to tackle advanced techniques.

We provide professional and experienced instructors, and we offer a wide range of equipment hire that is modern, safe and renewed regularly.

Other Winter Camp Activities

We also run regular excursions to sights of interest in the surrounding area. We run one day trip each week, and everyone is welcome to come along.

We also offer lots of fun evening activities including torchlight walks, ice hockey, ice skating and even a disco.

Days typically start with breakfast at 8:00 am, followed by a morning of winter sports lessons. Lunch is at midday, followed by a further afternoon of winter sports, and students can then enjoy a couple of hours of free time. After dinner, we provide a variety of fun activities and games, and excursions are held on some days.

Meals

We offer a full continental breakfast every day, a hot lunch, hot chocolate back at camp once activities are over, and a hot meal every evening with a healthy three-course meal.

Why Choose La Garenne?

La Garenne provides the right combination of activities and language learning to offer children a fun and rewarding experience. We provide an international environment with experienced and caring staff, and the children who attend our winter camp enjoy wonderful experiences and take away many amazing memories of their time with us.

Book Your Winter Camp

We would love to see you at our next winter camp at La Garenne. If you would like your child to attend our winter camp, contact us today to book your place. Please be aware that places fill up quickly, so book early to avoid disappointment: https://winter.la-garenne.ch/admissions-winter

A discovery of different cultures in an exceptional environment.

Individual care and attention.

Forming friendships for life.

An opportunity to learn a variety of languages: At La Garenne, lessons are taught in English. French is compulsory at all grades and bilingualism is encouraged. We maintain strict nationality quotas so that no single nationality dominates. After school language clubs are very popular and students may study Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, English, French or Russian. Private lessons are also available.

A wide variety of sports, weekend expeditions and cultural activities: Sport is a key part of the curriculum. Our philosophy is to instil fair play, team spirit and the will to win. Students participate in a wide variety of sports such as swimming, golf, athletics, skiing, snowboarding, climbing, ice-hockey, karate, tennis, team sports and outdoor activities.

Individual coaching is available in all disciplines for our future professional athletes. The weekends are dedicated to mountain expeditions where students camp, climb, learn to work as a team and improve their self confidence and organisational skills.

A supportive family atmosphere: For over 75 years, La Garenne has provided a warm and inviting environment. We promote traditional values of respect, politeness, organisation, punctuality, tolerance and solidarity. Our house parents attend to every student’s pastoral needs. La Garenne is a home away from home.

High academic standards with state of the art classrooms: Students study internationally-recognised academic programmes validated and accredited by the International Baccalaureate organisation. Students are taught in small groups by specialist, experienced teachers who help each student to advance to a high level.

The role of our dynamic teachers is also to enhance the students personal and social skills, to motivate them to be lifelong learners and to become thoughtful and caring young adults. Our well-balanced timetable provides sport, academic studies, and extracurricular activities.

Extra-curricular activities: La Garenne prides itself on the choice of daily extracurricular activities and clubs on offer. We believe that activities taught by professionals develop a student’s creativity. Language courses, music lessons, drama and sports clubs, dance and ballet, karate, cinema club, chess, craft clubs, ice-skating and weekend expeditions are just some of the options available.

Music and Arts: Music plays an important role in our students’ lives. As well as music lessons, they have the opportunity to learn instruments such as piano, violin and guitar. The use of electronic equipment enables students to create their own multimedia productions.

During art lessons, a range of techniques such as drawing, painting, sculpture and collage are taught, allowing students to express themselves and their imagination. The stunning views and exceptional surroundings are a perfect backdrop to develop the creative side in art, music, drama and performance.