HAUT-LAC INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL SCHOOL | ELITE WORLD IB SCHOOL NEAR MONTREUX

Location:

Located in St-Légier above the Swiss towns of Vevey and Montreux, the school sits surrounded by spectacular alpine scenery. Lausanne is only a 30-minute car trip away, and students can arrive from the Geneva International Airport in about one and a half hours.

Haut-Lac has two distinct school campuses, which are a 3-minute walk from one another – Praz-Dagoud (ages 3-12) and Roches Grises (ages 13-18) – and a modern Boutique Boarding House offering bright double rooms with private bathrooms and spacious and comfy student common rooms.

Its school campuses feature numerous state-of-the-art facilities that promote study and play. From research libraries and technology labs to full-sized football pitches and multi-sports courts, these two superb campuses are renowned in the region.

Overview:

Haut-Lac was founded back in 1993 as bilingual school for local and international students. The directors’ overarching vision was to create a prestigious, international bilingual school with a warm, family feel in which pupils could thrive and develop all their talents.

The independent school welcomes students from over 50 nationalities (just 53% are locals), fostering a globally-minded community whose focus is on cultural and language exchanges and a quality all-round education.

Small class sizes (average 12) provide students with the personalised attention they need to succeed, while interactive “gamified” lesson plans, access to new technologies, and highly qualified acadmic staff make learning fun.

Core Values:

Haut-Lac bestows students with the knowledge and skills to live, learn, and succeed in the 21st century. The warm, family-orientated spirit that founded Haut-Lac remains at the forefront of its ethos today, as it works to ensure student progress and excellent academic results. The school is build on mutual respect, a strong sense of belonging and on forming resilient, open-minded students who are able to succeed in the modern world.

Academics:

Haut-Lac is fully authorised IB World school, offering its core academic programmes truly bilingually in English and French or in English only. The school offers seven distinct academic programmes for students aged 3-18.

These include:

The Infant & Primary programme:

• Based on the highly acclaimed “Learning Means the World” model

• The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP) with or without Swiss Option modules

Upper Secondary programmes:

• International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) or
• International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) or
• US High School Diploma (USHD)
• IB Sport & Study Programme (for young athletes) accredited by the World Academy of Sport (WAoS)

Every programme follows a holistic approach to learning, incorporating a well-rounded educational curriculum alongside sports, intercultural awareness, and transferable skills.

Focus areas enable students to pursue their passions throughout each programme. Special tuition covers the arts (performance, visual, music, and film, etc.), digital education (robotics, programming, and computer science, etc.), and sports (skiing, team sports, and swimming, etc.).

As the first Athlete-Friendly Education Centre accredited by the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) in Switzerland, Haut-Lac is able to provide personalised IB Sport & Study programmes to high level athletes. A status enabling it to run a Ski Racing Academy with Ski Zenit for professional teen skiers who wish to complete their schooling and pursue their sport.

Extra-Curricular Activities:

Extra-curricular activities are the cornerstone of the Haut-Lac experience. Over 150 artistic, sporting, cutural and technological after-school clubs give pupils the chance to meet new people and develop their talents in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. With such stunning scenery, it’s no surprise skiing, golfing and hiking are particularly popular pastimes here.

International expeditions to nearby European nations like Italy, France, and Germany are also run for boarders who can’t return home during the holidays.