A student’s life from 14-17 is an incredibly important time, laying the foundations for a career at university and deciding the path of the rest of their lives. But what about those formative years in the lead-up to IGCSEs and A Levels, PSATs and High School Diplomas, or their equivalents? Also, why does Switzerland provide such a great environment for learning from 11-14?

You would be forgiven for thinking that university preparation only begins at 15 or 16 with A Levels and High School Diplomas, or even 14 with IGCSEs and PSATs. However, students will make many of their choices for entering those later years based on what they learnt from 11-14 – the years that form Brillantmont’s Middle School.

Whether you call it Middle School Education or Junior High, around the world children learn the fundamentals of science, mathematics, history and languages, to name but a few subjects in what are commonly broad and comprehensive syllabi. It is during this time that strengths and talents are identified, and any weaknesses addressed as early as possible.

Attending a Middle School in Switzerland

For decades, Switzerland has been associated with educational excellence and progressive thinking, thanks to educationalists such as Piaget and Pestalozzi. Switzerland was also one of the first countries, along with Italy in 1909, to introduce Montessori education and is where the International Baccalaureat was founded. As such, Switzerland has long attracted international repute for its educational standards, and there are many excellent universities and establishments of further and higher education, especially in the Lake Geneva area.

Switzerland’s rich tapestry of languages – four official ones to be exact, plus English which is widely spoken – makes it ideal for students wishing to improve their language skills and benefit from a multicultural, multilingual environment.

In many ways, Switzerland has a bit of everything – captivating history; strong links to literature’s greats from Hemingway to Nabokov (who has a room named after him at the Le Montreux Palace Hotel, also once home to Byron and Tolstoy); and a landscape that can’t fail to ignite an interest in geography and the natural sciences, as well as offering an incredible natural playground.

The Brillantmont Middle School Programme

The Brillantmont Middle School is equivalent to US Grades 6-8, or UK Years 7-9. Later students can choose to progress into either American or British high school programmes, but in the Middle School the syllabus covers all the elements of the UK’s National Key Stage 3 Curriculum.

All mainstream students study English and French with support for those wishing to take on a third language from the 6th Grade / Year 7.

If you have any questions about attending Middle School here at Brillantmont, send them to us online via our contact form. We’ll be sure to get in touch with you and send you further information.