While not everyone who attends the Summer Course at Brillantmont returns in the fall to start the year-round academic programme, many students who have their first experience away from home at our school, do end up returning as full-time students.  

The Swiss Summer School is an excellent way to introduce your child to boarding school abroad and to give them a taste of what it is like to live with others from all over the world, learn another language intensely, experience new cultures, and grow in their sense of independence and confidence.  

For this blog we sat down with a year-round Spanish student named Iñigo. Three years ago he attended Brillantmont for the first time as a summer school student. Some of the highlights of summer school for him were the fun excursions he went on around Switzerland and the good times down by the lake. “I loved the amazing barbecue on the lake every Wednesday!”

Our summer programme is unique in that it splits the student’s time between language learning and a large variety of sports activities and excursions to make the summer fun. In the mornings, students take classes in either French or English according to their preference and language abilities, and after lunch, they get to have fun by the lake or go on a number of memorable outings across Switzerland to places like Chateau Chillon.

“My favorite excursion during summer school was when we went hiking to a large lake surrounded by mountains. It was really, really fun and so beautiful. It was good to be with my friends and I love hiking.” 

When Iñigo came to summer school in Switzerland, he chose to focus on English and over the course of the programme, his language ability has improved significantly. He says that one of the things, aside from classroom learning, that has made him improve so much in his English speaking ability is building friendships with people from all over the world. In both the summer school and year-round programme, because everyone is from a different place, you have to speak the common language of English to get along. This forces students to practise the language on a daily basis.

Iñigo is a great example of how attending the summer course can be an excellent way to jump start your language learning in boarding school. Attending intensive classes over the course of a few weeks and speaking with friends daily, enables students to get in the right mindset for further academics and more serious focus in the autumn.

Many parents have chosen to send their child to summer school in Switzerland and are happy with the mix of fun and learning that it provides. Whether or not you intend to continue your child’s education abroad at boarding school, give them the unique opportunity to try it out in the summer months.

Our summer programme gives you the option of sending your child here for anywhere between one to six weeks, with every week offering new activities and field trips so students are never bored. Want to learn more about our summer course? Contact us directly!