Blog

Every year at Brillantmont, we offer students from all over the world a chance to come and join our boarding school in Switzerland with our Winter Camp and Language Course Programme. For between four and six weeks during January and February, students can take part in lessons, make new friends, enjoy excursions, brush up on their winter sports skills on the mountains, and explore beautiful Lausanne in Switzerland.

Packed with fun activities and learning opportunities, our Winter Camp and Language Course programme is extremely popular - so make sure you book quickly to avoid missing out! But first, read on to see exactly what the course offers, and why students love coming to Brillantmont for their winter break.

Take a look at the upcoming schedule for our Science and Coding students, who are applying some high level concepts to their practical work as part of a fun, engaging upcoming syllabus. Read on to learn what we have been working on - and what is still to come in this school year!

So much has happened in a span of a few short weeks since our 2019-2020 school year started in September. Most importantly, we welcomed our new and returning students to our warm and friendly community. Whether they are at Brillantmont until graduation or just for one term, we embrace our students in the family environment that Brillantmont has nurtured for over 135 years.

Each student is different, with personal learning styles and individual talents. Our teachers and coordinators work together with the students to set their goals to help them shape their future.

The coordinators have given us their insight on how the first few weeks of the year have been so far. They talk about their interaction with the students and, overall, how the school year has started for the entire community.

One advantage of Brillantmont’s location in Switzerland is that we can easily organise trips to different parts of Europe which are very close by.  Every autumn half term holiday we organise a week-long trip and this year our students went to the French Riviera.

Thursday October 25th is National Digital Day in Switzerland. This government run initiative is in its 2nd year and aims to promote and encourage digital skills across the country.

Boarding school life is about so much more than just the learning. It’s about belonging to a community, sharing experiences, growing and developing alongside others.

Living with others of the same age creates a unique bond; you share triumphs and joys and you’ve also got people to support you when the going gets tough. The friendships you make during your time at Brillantmont will shape and impact your life.

So much has already happened at Brillantmont since school started back in September. Our new students have settled in well and already feel very much at home in our warm, friendly community and we are proud of how our returning students have made them feel welcome. As Mr Mc Clean, Assistant Academic Head enthuses, “It has been a terrific start to the new academic year. The students are positive, engaged and working hard but more importantly the sense of enjoyment is tangible.”

A year reaching its end is a time for reflection and celebration. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to change jobs every two years, moving from one challenge to another. That is not the case for the staff at Brillantmont. The size of the school means that the range of tasks and jobs to be done is always varied and changing, as the school constantly evolves and moves forward. Consequently, several staff members have been at the school for many years, which ensures continuity and a long-term vision.

Nobody embodies this better than our Director, Mr Philippe Pasche, who this year celebrates his 40th year at Brillantmont. He began working at the school as a young accountant, also teaching commerce and sports. He has always been eager to develop students' interests beyond the classroom and, as an accomplished sportsman, to get them moving! Particularly keen on skiing, he has shared many memorable moments on the pistes and some people might not know that he is in fact a qualified ski teacher. He always looks forward to joining the students during their week long ski trip, which in February  2018,  is to the village of Zinal. Working closely with the owners of the school, the Frei family, Mr Pasche's role has evolved over the years and on the retirement of Mme Frei, who had been Head for over 40 years, he stepped into the role of Director General. With the support of Deputy Director Ms Boland, he successfully leads Brillantmont forward.

As we celebrated him at a recent dinner, he reflected on his years and his journey within the Brillantmont family. The way the school has changed and developed over the years, always trying to keep excellence and the students' success and well-being at the centre of our vision, has given him immense opportunities to develop talents and competence in many domains. The demands of his role and leading a community of 200 people means that life is never dull and proves that "variety is the spice of life." Surpassing everything however, is his respect and affection for the students and the satisfaction he gains in seeing them mature and develop is the greatest reward he could wish for.

We would like to congratulate him on this milestone anniversary and thank him for his years of commitment and passion for Brillantmont.